The first bicycle train in Istria will run daily on the route Pula-Buzet

Istria got its first bicycle train. It is a refurbished HŽ Putnički prijevoz (Croatian Railways) train that can accommodate up to 22 bicycles, and more if necessary. 

The train will run every day on the route from Pula to Buzet and vice versa. The ticket price will be regular as for other lines, and on the train, there will be a special sign that it is adapted for the transport of bicycles. 

This is also the only train in Croatia that transports bicycles. So far, wagons have been in operation to provide this service across the state.

The project with the aim of modernizing the railway

Everything was financed from European Union funds, more precisely from the ICARUS project worth 2.2 million euros, which is co-financed by the Interreg V-A Italy – Croatia program.

After researching the market in Istria, we saw that there is a need for new alternative transport, and in cooperation with HŽ we agreed on a wagon and train in Istria for bicycles that can be used by our citizens and tourists. This is an opportunity to get to know central Istria and to connect ecological transport.

We are also going to the second phase of the project, which is the creation of a digital card that will connect all alternative transports. As part of the Icarus project, the old railway line from Kanfanar to Rovinj in the length of 21 kilometers into a bicycle path has been arranged.

IDA Director Boris Sabatti

President of the Management Board of HŽ Putnički prijevoz Željko Ukić explained that this is the first step towards the modernization of the Istrian railway and trains running on it. He further says that the aim of this project was to connect the coast with the inner parts and find an acceptable form of transport. 

Introducing the environmentally friendly trains

Ukić explains it is an integrated transport that will affect greenhouse gas emissions. By the end of 2023, 33 new electric trains will be delivered to HŽ passenger transport, of which three have already been delivered. And for the Istrian railway from the national recovery and resilience plan, HŽ passenger transport will contract and procure two prototypes of battery trains in order to encourage the ecological use of transport.

This year, an agreement was signed between HŽ Infrastruktura and the Ministry of Transport on conducting an analysis of the condition of the entire route of the Istrian railway from Pula to the border with Slovenia. It is expected that a public tender will be announced for consultants who will do this, and it is working with six million kuna of funds, in order to make the best solution for the electrification of the entire railway route. In the future, it will be a key ecological direction for the development of the economy and the exchange of services and passengers in Istria with the hub in Divača.

Member of Parliament Anton Kliman

Source: Jutarnji.hr