Oštarije – Knin railway line

Oštarije – Knin
Route number :	M604
Course book range :	70 (HŽ)
Route length:	223.689 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C4
Top speed:	100 km / h
Legend from Zagreb 0.000 Oštarije 315  m. i. J. to Rijeka 0.821 Abw. Krpelj 315  m. i. J. 7.777 Oštarije-Ravnice 318  m. i. J. 8,920 Šušnjevo Selo 10.484 Josipdol 334  m. i. J. 17,510 Vojnovac 384  m. i. J. 20,124 Lički Podhum 22.646 Latin 396  m. i. J. 26,938 Plaški 378  m. i. J. 33,374 Plavča Draga 37.268 Blata 528  m. i. J. 45.651 Lička Jesenica 665  m. i. J. 52,451 Javornik 778  m. i. J. 60.563 Rudopolje 870  m. i. J. Vertex 68.299 Vrhovine 765  m. i. J. 78.290 Sinac 672  m. i. J. 81.148 Ramljani 83,435 Ličko Lešće 644  m. i. J. 88.743 Janjče 93.844 Studenci 588  m. i. J. 101.547 Perušić 576  m. i. J. 107.165 Lički Osik 572  m. i. J. 115.663 Gospić 568  m. i. J. 120.962 Bilaj-Ribnik 573  m. i. J. 129.284 Medak 577  m. i. J. 133.543 Kruškovac 591  m. i. J. 137.392 Raduč 601  m. i. J. 144.058 Lovinac 579  m. i. J. 147.622 Ličko Cerje 569  m. i. J. 151.909 Ričice 565  m. i. J. 155.332 Štikada 558  m. i. J. 159.615 Gračac 555  m. i. J. 167.897 Cerovac 674  m. i. J. Vertex 175.901 Malovan 793  m. i. J. 186.191 Zrmanja 637  m. i. J. 194,216 Pribudić 605  m. i. J. 197,808 Prljevo 202.891 Plavno 490  m. i. J. 206.658 Oton 428  m. i. J. 209.829 Pađene 380  m. i. J. 215.727 Stara Straža 337  m. i. J. from Novi Grad from Zadar 223.689 Knin 221  m. i. J. to Split
Ogulin – Krpelj
Route number :	M605
Course book range :	70 (HŽ)
Route length:	5.806 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class :	C4
Top speed:	80 km / h
from Rijeka 0.051 Ogulin to Zagreb from Oštarije 5.857 Abw. Krpelj 315  m. i. J.

The Oštarije – Knin railway is a single-track, non-electrified main line in western Croatia . It provides the link between the Zagreb – Rijeka railway and the Knin railway junction . In the official Croatian route classification, it is part of the M604 Oštarije – Split railway line. It crosses the historical Lika landscape and is therefore also known as the Lika Railway . In its course it crosses or touches four counties .

The route crosses two watersheds near the Rudopolje ( 870  m. Y. Year) and Malovan ( 793  m. Y. Y.) Stations . These are also the two highest operating points on the route.

history

In 1866, the Austrian Minister of Commerce, Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair , issued a memorandum calling for the Lika to build a railway. In addition to the question of financing, the fact that in the course of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, Croatia became Hungarian in 1867 (see Croatia in the Danube Monarchy ) and Dalmatia was territorially separated from the Austrian home country was subsequently problematic . The dispute between Austria and Hungary over the route through the Lika lasted until 1913 before construction could begin. Then the First World War hampered the project. The line was completed and put into operation in 1925 by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and later merged with them into the Yugoslav State Railways (JDŽ / JŽ).

The route was put into operation in detail:

• on October 14, 1914 from Ogulin (on the Zagreb – Rijeka line ) to Plaški by the then Hungarian State Railways (according to the source 21.8 km)
• on June 12, 1918 from Plaški to Vrhovine also by the Hungarian State Railways (42.2 km) (according to source 42.2 km)
• on March 23, 1920 from Vrhovine to Gospić by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (according to the source 47.4 km)
• on June 15, 1922 from Gospić to Gračac by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (according to source 43.9 km)
• on July 25, 1925 from Gračac to Knin (on the Knin – Split railway line ) by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (according to source 64.0 km)
• on May 1, 1928 the connecting curve from the Oštarije station on the Zagreb – Rijeka railway to today's Krpelj junction, also by the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (according to the source 0.8 km)

It was not until the connecting curve, which was put into operation in 1928, today the actual main line, that train journeys between Zagreb and Knin were made possible without changing the direction of travel or changing or shunting at Ogulin station.

With Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the route was again transferred to the newly founded Hrvatske željeznice (HŽ) railway company . The vast majority of the route from 1991 to 1995 was in the territory of the internationally unrecognized Republic of Serbian Krajina and thus outside the sphere of influence of the HŽ. In the official timetable of the HŽ for the 1994 summer timetable, traffic offers on this route were only shown in the northern section between Josipdol and Ogulin on the Zagreb – Rijeka railway line . During the Croatian War from 1991 to 1995, the route suffered badly; destroyed buildings can be seen along the route to this day. In Lički Osik there is another minefield next to the route. The line itself has been rebuilt and expanded since the end of the war. The operation today also takes place according to modern standards.

Today's transport offer

Since 2005 the connection Zagreb – Split has been served by the Croatian Railways (HŽ) with tilting technology trains of the 7123 series . The trains run as so-called ICN ( InterCity Nagibni ). In the 2013 annual timetable, two pairs of trains run daily. The remote transport service between Zagreb, Karlovac, Knin and Split is supplemented by locomotive-covered more rapid and night trains , wherein a pair of trains and car passenger coach carries. Through car connections to and from Budapest are also offered seasonally, and once a week to Moscow . In addition, several pairs of local rail passenger trains operate in the Ogulin – Vrhovine section .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} HŽ Infrastruktura doo: Izvješće o mreži 2014 . (PDF) In: hzinfra.hr. December 5, 2012, archived from the original on October 21, 2013 ; accessed on April 25, 2018 (Croatian, only via download). 
2. ↑ Vlada Republike Hrvatska: Odluka o razvrstavanju željezničkih Pruga Government of the Republic of Croatia: decision on the classification of the Railroads of 12 July 2006, accessed on June 28, 2013
3. ↑ Vladimir Stehlik: Postanak i razvitak železnica u Jugoslaviji . In: Izdanje redakcije Štamparskog preduzeća Jugoslovenskih železnica (ed.): Sto godina železnica Jugoslavije . 1849-1949 . Štamparsko preduzeće Jugoslovenskih železnica, Belgrade 1951, p. 78 (Serbo-Croatian).
4. ↑ Vladimir Stehlik: Postanak i razvitak železnica u Jugoslaviji . In: Izdanje redakcije Štamparskog preduzeća Jugoslovenskih železnica (ed.): Sto godina železnica Jugoslavije . 1849-1949 . Štamparsko preduzeće Jugoslovenskih železnica, Belgrade 1951, p. 85 f . (Serbo-Croatian).
5. ↑ Hrvatske Željeznice po: Vozni red 29.V.1994. - 24.IX.1994. Zagreb 1994, p. 206ff.
6. ↑ HŽ Putnički prijevoz doo: Vozni red 9.XII.2012. - 14.XII.2013. , Zagreb 2012.

literature

• Helena Bundjevac: Najskuplja zeljeznica na svijetu . In: EuroCity 3 (2003), p. 80 ff.
• Elmar Oberregger: The most important main railways . Sattledt 2007 (On the railway history of the Alps-Danube-Adriatic region 3).

Web links

Commons : Oštarije – Knin railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Art. Lika-Bahn . In: Encyclopedia on the railway history of the Alps-Danube-Adriatic region. Internet 2006 ff.
• Pictures of the Likabahn