EUROPE: A study is to be undertaken into the potential reopening of the line from Savski Marof and Kumrovec in Croatia to Imeno in Slovenia, which closed in 2000.
The 39·5 km route is owned by Croatia’s HŽ Infrastruktura as far as the border crossing just south of Imeno, but as a result of the breakup of Yugoslavia it crosses the international border multiple times.
The Prefect of Croatia’s Krapina-Zagorje county, Željko Kolar, and Mayor of Kumrovec Robert Šplajt reached an agreement October 18 for HŽ Infrastruktura to call tenders for the preparation of study documentation. This will be funded with €3·5m from the Croatian state budget and a loan from the European Investment Bank.
The meeting was attended by State Secretary from the Ministry of the Sea, Transport & Infrastructure Žarko Tušek, who said ’this line is part of our strategic projects, and it will certainly be refurbished in the future’.
The Mayor of Podčetrtek in Slovenia, Peter Misja, said the municipality has been calling for the reopening of the line for 25 years, as ’a good connection to the city of Zagreb is important to us’.
HŽ Infrastruktura said it had previously concluded that reopening would not be viable because of the poor condition of the buildings, bridges, viaducts and tunnels.
The first 4·8 km of the line from Savski Marof to Harmica is electrified and is used by Zagreb suburban services.
