The closing ceremony of completion of the rehabilitation project of the railway line section Vinkovci to Tovarnik to State Border, co-financed with the ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) programme funds, was held today at the railway station Vinkovci.
During the ceremony audience was addressed by Branko Grčić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Zlatko Komadina, Minister of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure and Paul Vandoren, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Croatia.
The Vinkovci to Tovarnik to State Border section, 33.5 km in length, is part of the Pan-European Corridor X being of a major importance for both the Republic of Croatia and the EU.
The rehabilitation of this section is the first such project in Croatia financed with the EU pre-accession funds, and also the first project that uses the EU funds to co-finance investments in the railway infrastructure. At the same time, this is a largest infrastructure project supported by the pre-accession assistance model, both financially and physically.
The Project was implemented under three separate contracts amounting to € 59.5 million, funded through the Croatian state budget and the matching European Union grant at the rate of 48 percent.
The completion of the Project will primarily increase the train speed, reduce track and rolling stock maintenance costs; it will increase the railway capacity, as well as reliability and safety 
of railway transport. The novelty is also the centralized signalling control and train management system from the new centre at the Vinkovci station.
The designed parameters at this section of the railway line are: speed of 160 km per hour and axial load of 22.5 t per axle. However, it is not yet possible to drive at the designed speed, as the period in which the functioning of the equipment is being closely monitored should end by mid-2012 at the latest.
Italian company Salcef Construzioni Edili e Ferroviarie S.p.A. conducted the civil works, while the company Bombardier Transportation Italy, in consortium with the Italian-based SITE S.p.A. installed the traffic signalling and control system. TYPSA Consulting Engineers & Architects supervised the works.
The Ministry of Maritime Affairs,
Transport and Infrastructure is responsible for monitoring and coordination of the project implementation, HŽ Infrastruktura is a final beneficiary of the project, while the Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA), as an accredited agency, was responsible for the overall financial, technical and administrative management and implementation of the measure.
PHOTO GALLERY: