CROATIA: National passenger operator HŽ Putnički Prijevoz has signed contracts for the purchase of six more Končar battery-electric multiple-units and the construction of a charging station at Kotoriba.
The agreements signed on July 16 are worth a total of €53.6m, and mean HŽPP has now ordered a total of 11 Končar battery-electric trainsets.
The first order for a prototype BEMU was placed in December 2022 under the Application of Green Technologies in Railway Passenger Transport project financed through Croatia’s National Recovery & Resilience Plan. This project also included a prototype battery-only train and six charging stations in Split, Osijek, Varaždin, Bjelovar, Virovitica and Pula.
A further four production BEMUs were ordered in June 2025 as part of a €117.9m contract covering five electro-diesel trainsets, four battery-electric trainsets, four battery-only trainsets and charging stations at Lupoglav
and Velika. Delivery of these units is scheduled for 2027-28.
The three-car low-floor BEMUs will be 56.2 m long with an axleload of 18 tonnes. Each set will have 157 seats and space for 158 standing passengers. They will have CCTV, wheelchair ramps, an accessible toilet and bicycle spaces.
The 12 Leclanché INT-53 modular lithium-ion battery packs with a combined nominal capacity of 631 kWh will be charged either from the 25 kV 50 Hz overhead electrification or at dedicated charging stations.
The BEMUs are designed to operate for up to 18 h and 480 km per day, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h when taking power from the overhead electrification and 120 km/h in battery mode.
Electro-diesel units
Meanwhile, Končar has begun test running with the first Class 7024 electro-diesel multiple-unit.
HŽPP has placed two orders for a total of 11 electro-diesel units, and the six units from the first batch are to be delivered by the end of 2026.
The electro-diesel units are intended to replace the existing tilting diesel trainsets on services between Zagreb and Split. The absence of a tilting mechanism could result in longer schedules on the tortuous route, and neither HŽPP nor Končar has publicly disclosed the expected end-to-end journey time with the new trains.
Končar is planning to exhibit unit 7024 002 at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin.
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