Cohesion Policy: European Commission invests in environmentally friendly transport in Croatia

Today, the European Commission approved an investment of more than €311 million from the Cohesion Fund to upgrade the 44-km Hrvatski Leskovac-Karlovac section of Croatia’s Zagreb-Rijeka railway, which is a highly populated area and one of Croatia’s main logistics centres. The project will limit the environmental impact of transport by contributing to the shift from road to rail for both freight and passengers, reduce travel time and increase safety. Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Creating and improving sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of transport is a crucial part of our efforts to fight climate change – which we pushed even further with our European Green Deal that we presented yesterday. This Cohesion Fund investment in one of Croatia’s main railways will do precisely that. Furthermore, it will not only reduce the environmental impact of transport, but also increase safety and generate positive economic returns.” This project, expected to be operational as of end of October 2023, is part of the Rijeka-Zagreb-Budapest branch of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) Mediterranean corridor, and of European Rail Freight Corridor 6, which covers the Mediterranean region.