Blue travel through Zagreb Omiljena plava boja*

Transcription

1 Blue (plavi) is the colour of Zagreb, therefore almost all buses and trams in the capital of Croatia of nearly 800,000 population are painted blue. There is no metro here and it will not be soon. Also there is no transport operating on the Sava river. But a very short cable car is an attraction instead. By railway we will go to the Adriatic and abroad. 62presentations Blue travel through Zagreb Omiljena plava boja* Text and photographs RADOSŁAW GIELO

2 presentations 63 Urban transport vehicles in Zagreb are blue

3 The airport situated 17 km from Zagreb is small, a few times smaller than the Frederic Chopin airport in Warsaw, where our Croatian travel started. 90 minutes earlier we left cloudy Poland, while Croatia welcomed us with bright sun, despite the fact that really hot weather could be expected only in Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar or Šibenik. However, this time not those cities were the target of the expedition. 64presentations Airport surprise A negative surprise, but only for super-demanding people, consists in an overly modest offer of transport to the Zagreb centre. A tourist bus, leaving punctually every 30 minutes, is an alternative to taxies (cost of HRK , i.e. PLN ). The ticket costs 30 kuna (another conversion EUR 4), and children at school age do not pay at all. The bus travels on the route to the bus-railway Main Station (Glavni Kolodvor), from where we will continue our travel by... tram. The driver informs that the trip usually takes maximum half an hour, sometimes he manages to get to the destination within 25 minutes, but in the morning the city is jammed and passing a pretty short section takes more than an hour. A slow pace of travel makes that it is easier to familiarise ourselves with Zagreb, for a quarter of century the capital of independent Croatia. The city is divided into more than ten districts, the largest being Trešnjevka, Novi Zagreb, and Dubrava. Croatians are a definite majority of population, but there are also Serbs, Bosnians, Albanians, Romani people, and Slovenians. The Polish population is small. Zagreb is contemporary an administrative, economic, cultural, transport, and scientific centre of Croatia. Pink advertising exception Mr Goran Kekić from the department of transport and marketing of the official urban carrier ZET (Zagrebački Električni Tramwaj) tells us about the Zagreb public transport. We have a common ticket for buses and trams. Normal tickets cost HRK 10 (approx. PLN 6) and they can be purchased inter alia in every newspaper kiosk, but also from vehicle drivers. City time cards for 3, 7, 15 or 30 days passengers buy in our ZET sales branches ( The city is relatively small, therefore we do not have a P&R system, Streszczenie Summary Autor opisuje system komunikacji publicznej w Zagrzebiu stolicy Chorwacji. Każdego dnia wyjeżdża tam na ulice 177 tramwajów i 287 autobusów. Głównie w kolorze niebieskim. Dowiadujemy się gdzie w Zagrzebiu można nimi pojechać i w jakiej cenie. Do atrakcyjnego turystycznie Górnego Miasta można wyjechać kolejką linowo- -szynową, która jest jedną z atrakcji Zagrzebia. Wreszcie ciekawą alternatywą podróżowania po stolicy Chorwacji jest rower. Od ponad trzech lat działa tam system miejskiego roweru publicznego. Z artykułu dowiemy się ponadto o połączeniach kolejowych z Zagrzebia m.in. nad Adriatyk do Splitu czy Rijeki; jakości taboru kolejowego i udogodnień dla pasażerów. we do not need a metro, we also do not have a river transport says Mr Goran Kekić. For example, the price of a week ticket is HRK 150, of monthly HRK 360, while of annual HRK Every day 177 trams and 287 buses travel on the streets. The first of them leave the depot already at 4.40, and the last one return at In the night traffic we have 4 tram and 4 bus lines adds Mr Goran Kekić. Having left the tourist bus we walk only a few dozen metres to get to a tram stop. From here by six (just one of more used came up) we travelled to the centre of Zagreb. The Đuro Đaković trams were manufactured from 1974, ČKD from 1977, while the newest low-floor Končar from The longest Blue travel through Zagreb The author describes the public transport system in Zagreb - the capital of Croatia. Each day 177 trams and 287 buses run on the streets. Mainly in blue. We learn, where you can travel by them and for what price. The tourist attractions of the Upper City can be achieved by a cable railway, which is one of Zagreb attractions. Finally, a bicycle is an interesting alternative to travel in the Croatia s capital. A city public bike system has been operating there for more than three years. Moreover, we will learn from the paper about the railway connections from Zagreb, inter alia to the Adriatic Sea - to Split or Rijeka; about the rolling stock quality and about facilities for passengers. Słowa kluczowe: Chorwacja, Zagrzeb, transport publiczny Keywords: Croatia, Zagreb, public transport

4 tram line 7 is exactly 13 km and 54 m long says the specialist for the capital-city transport. Tourist attraction in seconds Everything what is most interesting in Zagreb is situated close to each other, therefore it is worth to go sightseeing on foot, and this is an ideal situation for foreign guests. The tourist traffic concentrates in so-called Upper City (Gornji Grad), comprising two districts: Gradec and Kaptol. The first of them can be reached by a cable railway, which is one of tourist attractions of the city. The lower station is situated in Tomićevej street, close to the Tomislav Park. When we get out from the upper station, we will be in the very centre of Zagreb, in its tourist and historical part. The railway consists of two cars, which travel on a section of 66 metres. This is the shortest such railway worldwide. The entire travel lasts around a minute, and 30 persons can travel at the same time. The attraction is used by tourists, but also by normal residents of the Croatian metropolis. A few hundred steps exist immediately next to the track for persistent people. The capital of Croatia with its conurbation surprise with diversity, in terms of tourist values, because it has a skiing centre Sljeme situated close to the city. It is there, where a prestigious alpine World Ski Cup competition is held, although in recent years fickle weather made competition impossible to skiers. And you should know, that the entire Croatia waits for the performance of their star Ivica Kostelica (earlier his sister Janica was shining on the slopes), even those less interested in professional sports, in particular in the winter variety. For the water sports lovers Lake Jarun, situated almost in the heart of the capital, allows sailing, swimming, diving, or riding a water bike and rowing a boat. Railway records Residents of Zagreb, neighbouring towns and villages, but also of the whole Croatia are willingly using the railway transport. The main station of the capital is the In recent years the railway infrastructure has substantially improved On the left The longest tram line in the city is km long The main station of the capital is the Main Station, situated at the King Tomislav square. Main Station, situated at the King Tomislav square. The construction of a neoclassical palace was completed more than 120 years ago, in The building was obviously modernised since that time and it is necessary to admit, that it looks beautifully. But also its surroundings are splendid, full of marvellous vegetation; the nearby botanic garden must be visited. In 2015 our trains carried as many as 21.7 million passengers informed us Ms Ivana Čubelić, the coordinator for public relations in HŽ Putnički prijevoz, the company managing the Croatian passenger railways ( Walking through stations in the capital the main and western it is not difficult to have an impression that the railway infrastructure has strongly improved, and the situation is to be better. We pass the floor again to our guide on the railway routes of Croatia. In January 2014 HŽ Putnički prijevoz signed a contract with the company Končar to manufacture and deliver 44 new trains. The contract comprises manufacturing of 32 electric multiple-unit sets 16 for urban-suburban and 16 for regional transport, and also 12 diesel-electric sets. The total value amounts to HRK 1.63 billion told us Ms Ivana Čubelić. So far the first phase of the rolling stock replacement was completed. The manufacturer delivered 21 trains, of which in 2015 that was ten electric sets for the needs of regional transport and six travelling in Zagreb and its immediate vicinity. This year the next five new trains started travelling on the routes, including one railbus. Care of passenger comfort Children up to 6 years old travel free of charge, if they do not need a special chair, up to 12 years presentations 65

5 66presentations In regional trains seats are in pairs, in the urban and suburban transport we decided to have single seats old pay a half of a normal ticket, and the youth at the age from 12 to 26 are entitled to a concession of 30%. Students and retired persons have a concession of 50%. Our trains are comfortable and safe, for instance modern heating and cooling systems have been installed. Windows are tinted at 60%, to protect passengers from sun. The entire passenger space is monitored and all messages, including obviously the information about this and the next station, are presented verbally and also displayed said Ms Ivana Čubelić. Low-floor sets are adapted for persons moving on wheelchairs or travelling with bicycles. The internal doors, designed in a special way, make that in cooler months the cold getting into the train at opening the door is minimal and because of that it does not deteriorates the comfort of travelling. In regional trains seats are in pairs, in the urban and suburban transport we decided to have single seats. What is important for passengers we are punctual. New trains feature a high degree of reliability due to the application of new technologies and systems for intensive use in every weather conditions. We care also of the environmental pollution reduction emphasised the representative of HŽPP. At night longer than during the day Ticket for routes covering only Croatia can be bought in railway stations and stops and also online on the carrier website hzpp.hr or via a special application for smart phones. Tickets for international trains passengers buy in ticket offices in selected stations, i.e. in Zagreb, Osijek, Split, Koprivnica, Slavonski Brad, Varażdin and a few others. Every day we send 6 trains on the route Zagreb Split Zagreb, on the Zagreb Rijeka Zagreb relation they are also six, on the Zagreb Osijek Zagreb eight, while as many as 13 on the Rijeka Pula Rijeka route. A very large number, as many as 35 trains travel on the Zagreb Karlovac Zagreb route informed Ms Ivana Čubelić. And how the travel time issue looks like, everybody knows that Croatia due to the topography is not the easiest land for the railway transport. Those, who travel in this Balkan state by comfortable motorways, know how many tunnels are there. Three highest mountain ranges of Croatia: Kapela, Velebit, and Biokovo effectively make the development of connections difficult. The railway reaches only Zadar, Šibenik, and Split. Unfortunately we cannot reach by train Dubrovnik, very popular among tourists from the whole world. For example, the route from the capital to Rijeka is 423 km long, and in the daytime trains pass it in around six hours. An overnight train, offering among other things couchettes, but also a possibility to transport a car in a special wagon, travels nearly eight hours. For tourists we have train connections with several countries Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Switzerland, and Germany summarised the representative of HŽ Putnički prijevoz d.o.o. Bicycle beginnings Persons, who want to use alternative possibilities to travel in Zagreb, choose bicycles. The Croatian capital city is still far behind e.g. the Dutch Amsterdam, but the first step was made and a system of public city bike, managed by the Nextbike, has been operating for more than three years. Residents of Zagreb, not only students, initially had a few dozen bicycles available in six location in the city centre, but the offer is being enriched all the time. The number of locations increased to more than ten, even in outlying suburbs. The systems reached also Šibenik, Gospic, Karlovac, Makarska considered the best place for summer holiday or Zadar. The first half an hour is free of charge, and the cost of each next hour is HRK 8. For renting lasting from 5 to maximum 24 hours we will pay HRK 79. Bicycles can be used by adults, and persons younger than 18 years only at the presence of adults. However, the number of bicycle tracks or their marking could raise objections. But the beginnings are always most difficult. Radosław Gielo Journalist of Polish Press Agency komunikacja@kzkgop.com.pl * Omiljena plava boja * favourite blue colour. Zagreb took on this colour, therefore the urban transport vehicles are also blue, with the exception of those, which have advertisements on their entire length; hence it is possible to see on track for example a pink 6.