The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, HŽ Passenger Transport CEO, Željko Ukić and the Director of the Central Financing and Contracting Agency, Tomislav Petric, signed a grant agreement today for the project 'HŽ Passenger Transport’s rolling stock renewal by new electric multiple-units'. The project includes the procurement of 21 electric multiple-units in total, 11 for regional and 10 for urban-suburban travel.
The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, the President of the HŽ Passenger Transport Management Board, Željko Ukić and the Director of the Central Financing and Contracting Agency, Tomislav Petric, signed a grant agreement today for the project ‘HŽ Passenger Transport’s rolling stock renewal by new electric multiple-units’. The signing ceremony was also attended by the Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds, Nataša Tramišak.
The project envisages the modernization of HŽ Passenger Transport’s rolling stock with new electric multiple-units (EMU) in order to improve the competitiveness of passenger services in urban, suburban and regional traffic.
The project includes the procurement of 21 electric multiple-units in total, 11 for regional and 10 for urban-suburban travel. Aside from improving regional connectivity and mobility, the new electric multiple-units ensure superior access to the labor market and services in functional centers, and it is hoped their acquisition will increase the capacity and service level of regional railway infrastructure and TEN-T railway infrastructure.
The new EMUs are low-floor vehicles with a capacity of 200 seated and 200 standing passengers in regional transport, while those operating in urban-suburban transport will accommodate about 130 seated and 380 standing passengers.
Trains will be equipped with entry and exit ramps for people with disabilities, as well as a bicycle area, and the entire passenger area will be under video surveillance. Along with increased capacity and improved reliability, trains will provide passengers with significantly greater travel comfort, both due to the equipment and free WiFi, as well as due to the maximum vehicle speed of 160 km / h.
At the signing of the Agreement, Minister Oleg Butković emphasized the importance of investing in Croatia’s railway system. “This is a continuation of investments in transport infrastructure, where the current investment cycle involves over 20 billion kuna. Thanks to this project, HŽ Passenger Transport will renew about 60 percent of its rolling stock by the end of 2024. The purpose of the entire project is to speed up our trains, that is, for Croatia to build a modern railway system in the coming years that will stand shoulder to shoulder with the systems of European countries,” said Minister Butković.
The total value of the project is above 172 million euros. Eligible project costs will be financed at the rate of 85% or 117 million euros by EU funds, i.e. the Cohesion Fund, while the remaining part of the expenditure will be covered using funds from the State Budget.