In the first quarter of 2025, just over six million passengers were transported by train in Croatia, which is 5.3% more than in the Q1 2024, while the amount of cargo transported by rail fell by 25.8% to 3.2 million tonnes, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) has reported.

The HAKOM regulator says the increase in the number of passengers transported in the first quarter of this year should be viewed as a steady growth, noting that HЕЅ Passenger Transport not only saw a rise in passenger numbers on trains but also recorded a 6% increase in passenger kilometres compared to the same period last year.

The significant drop in the volume of cargo transported, was a consequence of a prolonged suspension of rail traffic from the Port of Ploce to Bosnia and Herzegovina, which lasted until the end of January this year after some areas of BiH had been hit by devastating floods that had damaged the rail infrastructure, as well as major infrastructure works on the rail network, frequent line closures, and reduced capacity on alternative routes.

There was also an increase in transport prices, which affected the competitiveness of rail transport compared to other modes of transport.

In cargo transport, alongside the drop in the volume of goods transported, there was also a 7.4% decrease in tonne-kilometres. As a result of these reductions, cargo operators saw their revenues fall by 8.2% compared to the first quarter of last year, although HAKOM’s data does not indicate the total or individual revenue figures.

According to the regulator’s data, Croatia’s leading cargo rail operator, HЕЅ Cargo, transported 20.2% less goods in the first quarter of this year and recorded 13.6% fewer tonne-kilometres.

By the end of the quarter, the company’s share in the total volume of goods transported stood at 39.5%, and 45.6% in terms of tonne-kilometres. The other 17 registered cargo rail operators transported 29.1% less goods, with a 1.5% decrease in tonne-kilometres.

HAKOM also noted that out of the total 18 registered cargo rail operators, 12 were commercially active in the first months of this year, while six did not transport any goods.