About this journey

Gračac station sits in the Lika region of inland Croatia, the starting point of a journey south along the M604 line — the railway connecting the Croatian interior with the Adriatic coast at Split. The section from Gračac to Knin carries particular historical weight: it was the final segment completed on 25 July 1925, finishing the Zagreb–Split line amid wide celebration. Construction of the broader Lika railway had begun in spring 1913, and the 220 km single-track, un-electrified line was built southward by the company Grünwald und Schiffer. Because the Lika railway carries no overhead wires, the class 7123 ICN train operates under diesel traction throughout this section. Track reconstruction carried out by 2004–05 — including the reduction of sharp bends and steep gradients, alongside new signalling — significantly cut journey times across the line.

At Knin the route joins a much older corridor. The Knin–Split section, historically known as the Dalmatian railway, dates to 1888, predating the Lika line by decades. From Knin the line continues south toward the coast, arriving at Split station on the Adriatic. The contrast across the journey is considerable: the inland Lika passage through rugged terrain gives way, via Knin, to the older coastal corridor that has served Dalmatia since the nineteenth century.