Zagreb–Split hybrid train starts replacing tilting fleet used since 2004

The first Zagreb–Split hybrid train built by Končar entered passenger service on 15 September 2026, beginning a six-unit rollout to replace tilting trains used on the route since 2004.

HŽ Putnički prijevoz (HŽPP), Croatia’s national passenger operator, put the train into service on the Split–Zagreb run. It is the first of six electro-diesel units the operator ordered from Končar – Električna vozila.

Why the Zagreb–Split line needs a bi-mode train

The railway linking the Croatian capital with Split is 429 km long. Only its first 103 km, from Zagreb to Oštarije, run under overhead wires, and the 326 km beyond Oštarije have no electrification at all. The new unit draws current from the catenary where there is one and switches to diesel on the rest, so one trainset can cover the whole trip. Končar’s 2024 stock exchange notice put the diesel side at two engines with a combined output above 1.2 MW.

HŽPP gives the top speed as 160 km/h and says several units can run coupled together for extra capacity. Each train seats 150 passengers, 12 in first class and 138 in second. Passengers get free Wi-Fi, sockets by the seats and an information system with audio and visual station announcements. The train also has ramps for wheelchair users, room for bicycles and vending machines for drinks and snacks.

Replacing the tilting trains used since 2004

HŽPP and Končar – Električna vozila signed the purchase contract on 23 July 2024. A European Investment Bank (EIB) loan agreed in February of that year covers the €57.3 million deal.

At the signing, HŽPP management board president Željko Ukić set out what the order was meant to do:

“The new trains will replace the tilting trains that have been running between Split and Zagreb since 2004.”

The 2024 plan put the first train on the tracks within two years. One more was to follow each month, with the route’s fleet fully renewed by the end of 2026. The first unit began carrying passengers in mid-September, and at the launch Ukić said five more trains of this type would be on the rails before the year is out.

From December, Ukić said, HŽPP will run two daily trains from Zagreb and two from Split, plus a night train leaving Zagreb on Fridays and Split on Sundays. He said the aim is to make rail travel an attractive option for a growing number of people.

An eight-hour trip on a new train

Speaking at the launch, Split-Dalmatia County Prefect Blaženko Boban welcomed the domestically built train and the extra December departures. He also said everyone now has to work on improving the infrastructure, because an eight-hour trip to Zagreb on a train of this quality is not appropriate.

Žarko Tušek is State Secretary for Railways at the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure. He said study documentation covering the Zagreb–Split line has been contracted and should be finished next year. It is meant to set out a range of technical solutions for the line and for development of the wider corridor. Tušek called it a very large investment and said the whole sector is committed to it. He put the timeframe for carrying it out at five to ten years.

Končar’s build and the EIB money behind it

Končar developed and built the trains together with dozens of other Croatian firms. Its management board president, Gordan Kolak, said the train offers the same comfort, speed and reliability whether it runs on electrified or non-electrified track. The second train of the series is due at InnoTrans in Berlin a week after the launch. It will be Končar’s tenth appearance at the fair.

EIB Vice-President Marko Primorac said the bank has €900 million available for Croatian rail and related infrastructure. Part of that money will pay for 13 more trains and for renewing local and regional lines across the country, along with stations.

Five more electro-diesel trains on order

HŽPP has already ordered more trains of this kind. On 30 June 2025 Končar signed a €55.8 million contract for five more electro-diesel trains for long-distance services. The first is due 24 months after signing and the last within 28 months.

The €900 million figure dates back to early 2024. In February that year the EIB announced a first €400 million tranche of that approved financing for Croatia’s railways and rolling stock. The bank described it as its largest framework loan in the country.