Split Suburban Railway

Split Suburban Railway
The railway uses Swedish-made Y1 units
Overview
Type Suburban railway
Termini Split-Harbour
Kaštel Stari
Stations 7
Operation
Opened February 1993
December 10, 2006
Owner Croatian Railways
Operator(s) Croatian Railways
Rolling stock HŽ 7122 series
Technical
Line length 17.8 km
Number of tracks 1 (2)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification To be electrified in the future
Route map

 Trogir (planned)
 Split Airport (planned)
Knin-Split railway
to Perković
 Kaštel Stari
 Kaštel Lukšić
 E65 (Adriatic Highway)
 Kaštel Kambelovac
 Kaštel Gomilica
 Kaštel Sućurac
 Solin
 Jadro River
Vranjic
Neslanovac
Split-Predgrađe (Kopilica)
 Brodosplit
Split - H.B.Z.
Split-Harbour

The Split Suburban Railway (Croatian: Splitska gradska željeznica) is a suburban railway network in Split, Croatia. The railway was opened on refurbished existing tracks on December 10, 2006. It consists of one line serving seven stations, running from Split-Harbour to Kaštel Stari, but the line is being revamped with new stations and the reconstruction of existing ones. The line passes through two tunnels within the city centre of Split, and it is planned that within these tunnels metro-like stations will be opened to serve the city centre. The line is 17.8 kilometres (11.1 mi) long and an average train ride lasts for 25 minutes. A link with Trogir and Split Airport is planned.

History

Most of the railway lines were completed in October 1877, as Split was connected to Siverić via Perković. When Split hosted the 1979 Mediterranean Games, an extensive suburban railway system was planned and many stations were built. The existing tracks from the suburbs to the main terminus train station in the harbor were laid underground.[1] As a double-track electrified railway was planned, an underground station Split-H.B.Z. (with a 1,893 m tunnel) was built.[2] In 1991, Croatian war of independence broke out. The occupied territory severed the railway links between Split (and Dalmatia) and the rest of Croatia. Between February 1993 and October 1994, Croatian Railways, facing many idle trains and railway workers in Dalmatia, organized a short-lived and ill-fated Split suburban railway from Split to Kaštela.[3] Local authorities did not support the project while the long-distance rolling stock proved to be unsuitable for suburban traffic.[4] After the war's end in 1995 this project was abandoned.

In December 2006, Croatian Railways reopened the line for suburban traffic, announcing plans to electrify the line and lay a second set of tracks,[4] which still has not happened. Since 2007, CR has intended to refurbish and re-equip the Split railway tunnel and open the underground station Split-H.B.Z.,[5] but in late 2015 the City of Split definitely withdrew from the project citing the lack of funds as the main reason.[6]

Current state

The major issues plaguing the line include the distance of the railway tracks (built for long-distance traffic towards Knin and Zagreb) from the population centers along Bay of Kaštela. Despite the fact that around 35% of Split, 40% of Solin, and 50% of Kastela population lives along the suburban railway, due to the urban sprawl and the lack of spatial planning the surrounding area mostly consists of single-family detached homes with low urban density and poor access to public transport.[7] Together with the lack of railway commuting tradition among the population, this maintains the reliance on personal vehicles for transport. In 2007, the suburban railway served just 57,078 passengers and collected 441,690 HRK in fares.[8] Town of Kaštela 2016-20 traffic strategy called for a better integration of the suburban railway with the public transport, citing poor state of railway infrastructure, its outdatedness, and low quality and safety of suburban rail traffic.[9]

Planned development

Due to the frequent traffic bottlenecks, jams, and the rapid increase in passenger traffic at the nearby Split Airport (doubling between 2013 and 2017 to 3 million passengers, increasing further at a 23% annual rate), the Split Suburban railway is planned to be extended for roughly 12–14 km further, beyond Kastel Stari to Split Airport and running to Trogir as an endstation. Some older studies from 2000[10] and 2003[11] also envisaged extending the line eastward, but this has since been dropped.

In 2006 Marijan Klaric, deputy CEO of Croatian Railways, announced the plans to overhaul the Split suburban railway, electrify the lines, add another set of tracks and extend the line to Trogir, but nothing happened.[12] Croatian Railways invited the town of Split to work together on defining the new Trogir-Airport-Split railway in 2014.[13] In 2017, a conceptual design study for the line was published. It probed into two different paths (north and south from D8 road), estimating that two viaducts and one tunnel should be built for the line. Kaštel Kambelovac, Split Airport and Trogir train stations would also be built from scratch. Split-Trogir line would have an annual capacity of 5.6 million passengers. The calculations estimated the cost at 500 million kuna.[14]

In August 2017, commemorating the anniversary of the re-establishment of the railway traffic between Split and the continental Croatia after the war in 1995, Split mayor Krstulović Opara announced the construction of the railway to Split Airport as "everyone's dream", vowing "not to stop" until the line is completed.[15] In October 2017, after expressing the importance of this project,[16] Split mayor met with local counterparts in Kaštela to discuss the development. Kaštela mayor Denis Ivanović stated that this line would be the most profitable railway line in Croatia.[17] After a series of traffic jams on the route between Kastela and Split in March 2018, mayor Krstulović Opara cited them as a further proof that the road traffic is overwhelmed and that a new railway was necessary.[18] Mayor's opposition, Split social democrats, also supported the new railway.[19] On April 17, 2018, Split mayor met with mayors of Kaštela, Solin and Trogir, Croatian Railways president, as well as Split Airport director, Port authority, and the national Ministry of traffic and infrastructure representatives to discuss the project.[20] The railway was deemed especially important in order to link the Split Airport to the Port of Split (next to the current Split main station is) due to the many of the 3 million airport passengers travelling to the Dalmatian islands. The integration and intermodality of the public transport of the Split region with a population of 300.000 was another important goal. Split-Kopilica was mentioned as an intermodal transport hub. Croatian Railways strongly supported the project, while the Ministry of transport will finance the feasibility study. Kaštela and Trogir mayors stated that the general urban plan changes with respect to the new rail line have been ongoing in their jurisdictions. Split Airport and Port of Split directors expressed their intention to co-finance the project.[21]

Suburban train at Split Railway station
Kaštel Kambelovac train station

Under the auspices of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce and its vicepresident Mirjana Čagalj, on April 30, 2018 a memorandum establishing the multiyear partnership on Split area rail passenger traffic development was signed between the CR, local authorities, national ministry, and other stakeholders in the project.[22][23][24] Two possible routes for the new line to Trogir were mentioned. The first one would branch off from the existing tracks from Kastel Stari to Divulje and further to Trogir. This would mean 7 km of new tracks of which 3.4 km would be underground. The section between Kaštel Stari and Divulje would cost €70 million, while the section between Divulje and Trogir would cost between €30 and 80 million. The second route would branch off from Kaštel Sućurac, requiring 12.6 km of tracks (11.6 km underground). The latter would cost €200 million just to reach Divulje.[25] The case and development study planning would take 3-5 years, while the construction of the railway itself another 3-6 years. 8 train compositions would be bought for this line; Končar representatives presented the diesel multiple unit HZP 7-023 series to the stakeholders. Rail-workers' trade union representatives supported investing in the Split suburban rail network as a way to improve Croatian Railways' sustainability, profits, and mission fulfillment.[26]

The Government of Croatia officially supported the project in a cabinet meeting held in Split on May 4, 2018. Croatian Railways-Infrastructure was appointed as a key stakeholder, Ministry of traffic as a coordinator among the stakeholders and the local authorities, while the total cost was estimated at €1.1 bn. However, the Croatian Government spoke solely of connecting the Split Airport with the Port of Split and building Split-Kopilica as an intermodal hub. The plans for extending the line to Trogir were dropped.[27] This was reaffirmed on July 17, 2018 by the minister of transport Oleg Butković at the ceremonial opening of Čiovo bridge, stating that connecting Split Airport with the Port of Split by rail is the most important railway project in Croatia.[28]

At a July 19th on-site meeting with the Split area mayors and the state secretary for transport, the CEO of Croatian Railwyays-Passenger Transport declared the opening of the new stations on the existing track (Split-H.B.Z.,[29] Split-Dujmovača,[30] and Solin-Širine[30]) to be the first step to follow. CR will draft the studies and necessary documents for the new line and new stations (Sv. Kajo,[29] Kaštel Lukšić, Rudine, and Split Airport) in parallel. The feasibility study will be financed by the EU competitiveness and cohesion fund.[30] The path of the new extended track and the point where it will branch off from the existing Split-Knin-Zagreb railway is yet to be defined. Split mayor emphasized the need to refurbish the railway infrastructure not only for the suburban traffic, but also for the more efficient railway link between Central Europe and Zagreb, and Split and Dalmatia.[31]

Map

Split suburban railway (dark grey line)
Split suburban railway (dark grey line)

References

  1. ↑ Nikolic, Leo. "Pogled u prošlost za bolju budućnost". tportal.hr. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  2. ↑ Leš, Goran (2013-12-27). "Splitska podzemna željeznica - splitski.portal". splitski.portal. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  3. ↑ Klarić, Nenad (2009). "PRIGRADSKI ŽELJEZNIČKI PROMET NA PODRUČJU SPLITSKE KONURBACIJE"
  4. 1 2 "Ministarstvo pomorstva, prometa i infrastrukture - Promet - Prigradskim vlakom od Splita do Kaštela". www.mppi.hr. 2006. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  5. ↑ Vidulic (January 2013). "HŽ bi uredio tunel, ali Grad ne da lokacijsku". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  6. ↑ "Umjesto željeznice - podzemna željeznica Kopilica - trajektna luka sa stanicom kod suda". www.popravigrad.com (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  7. ↑ Martinić, Ivica. "VRIJEDI JOŠ JEDANPUT PROČITATI: Prije dvije godine stručnjak iz Banovine je upozorio da Splitu prijeti potpuni prometni kolaps". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  8. ↑ Klaric (2009), p. 6
  9. ↑ STRATEGIJA RAZVOJA GRADA KAŠTELA 2016. – 2020., Meta consulting, 2016., pp. 94-5
  10. ↑ Grančić, Jozo. (2000) "Osnovne pretpostavke za funkcioniranje prigradske željeznice na Splitsko-kaštelanskom području". ITHZ, 7(11)
  11. ↑ Antun, Stipetić,; Nenad, Klarić,; Slavko, Šerić, (2003-09-25). "Traffic and Technological Solution of the Urban and Suburban Railways of the City of Split". Promet - Traffic&Transportation. 15 (5). ISSN 0353-5320.
  12. ↑ "Splićani će vlakom putovati do Trogira". jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  13. ↑ KOHAREVIĆ, Ojdana. "HŽ: Split pripajamo Rijeci jer se broj putnika prepolovio". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-08-22.
  14. ↑ Maja, Ahac,; Stjepan, Lakušić,; Mate, Ivančev,; Ana, Čudina, (2017). "Idejno rješenje željezničke pruge Split – Trogir". Željeznice 21 (in Croatian). 16 (2). ISSN 1333-7971.
  15. ↑ "Vlak slobode se vratio u Split, od Labina do Kaštel Starog se vozi sporije da ne bi iskre od kočenja izazvale požar". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  16. ↑ "SEEbiz.eu / RS / Krstulović Opara: Splitska zračna luka i Jadrolinija trebaju više ulagati u Split". rs.seebiz.eu. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  17. ↑ "Ivanović: Željeznička pruga od Zračne luke do Kaštel Starog bila bi najisplativija u Hrvatskoj!". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  18. ↑ "Padaju glave u Hrvatskim cestama: Opara tražio smjene u zbog gužvi na ulazu u Split, otkaz dobio voditelj ispostave". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  19. ↑ "Goran Kotur ponudio rješenje za prometne gužve". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  20. ↑ "'Split će postati najveće gradilište u Hrvatskoj': brza željeznička linija povezivat će zračnu i trajektnu luku, u tijeku su pripreme za realizaciju ovog važnog projekta". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
  21. ↑ "Gradonačelnici četiriju gradova i župan s predsjednikom HŽ putničkog prijevoza i državnim tajnikom oko gradske željeznice | Solin Live". Solin Live (in Croatian). 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  22. ↑ Parchy (2018-04-30). "Kaštelanski Resnik povezuje se s Splitom željeznicom - Kastela.COM". Kastela.COM (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  23. ↑ "Vlakom od zračne luke do Splita". Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  24. ↑ "'Moramo ljude izbaviti iz prometne izolacije, sve je stvar političke volje': splitski gradonačelnik najavio pokretanje velikog projekta željeznice od trajektne luke do aerodroma". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  25. ↑ Bohutinski, Josip (03-05-2018). "Vlakom od trogira preko aerodroma do Splita za 40 minuta". Večernji list. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ↑ "U začaranom cugu". portalnovosti.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  27. ↑ Prijedlog zaključka u vezi s realizacijom Projekta povezivanja brzom prigradskom željeznicom kolodvora Split, u trajektnoj luci Split (Istočna obala), sa Zračnom lukom Split te izgradnja intermodalnog čvora novog glavnog kolodvora Split (Kopilica)
  28. ↑ "POVIJESNI DAN ZA TROGIR: Pogledajte kako je bilo na otvaranju Čiovskog mosta". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
  29. 1 2 "RADNI SASTANAK U VAGONU: Razgovaralo se o željeznici koja će povezati Resnik s Trajektnom lukom". Dalmatinski portal. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  30. 1 2 3 "Projekt splitske gradske željeznice od aerodroma do trajektne luke opet aktualan: 'Naših 350 tisuća građana zaslužuje bolji prijevoz'". Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  31. ↑ "Obilazak trase buduće moderne željeznice od Splita do Resnika". www.split.hr. Retrieved 2018-07-23.

Literature

  • Video of a train ride on the Split Suburban Railway on Youtube.com
  • (in Croatian) Article about the new line, with images
  • Putnik, Dijana. "Gužve na cestama izbjegavaju vozeći se vlakom (FOTO)" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2018-05-03.
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