About this journey

Gračac station sits at the southern edge of the Lika plateau, where the line begins its long northward arc through one of Croatia's most demanding mountain railways. This is the M604 — the approximately 220 km single-track, un-electrified Lika railway that forms the only operating rail link between continental Croatia and Dalmatia. Construction began in earnest in the spring of 1913, undertaken by the Grünwald und Schiffer company, and at its peak in June 1914 some 14,000 workers were employed on the site. The Gospić–Gračac section opened on 15 June 1922, and the line was not fully complete until 25 July 1925, when the final Gračac–Knin segment was finished.

From Gračac the route climbs northward through the Lika valley — the Ličko polje — a plateau lying at roughly 550–600 m above sea level, with the Velebit mountain range visible to the west and the Adriatic less than 25 km beyond it. Significant stops include Gospić, the largest city in the Lika region and seat of Lika-Senj County, and Vrhovine, historically a major servicing station for steam locomotives on this mountain section. Above Vrhovine the line crests the Mala Kapela mountain, reaching its highest point formally at 875 m above sea level near Rudopolje, before descending through a series of tunnels toward Plaški and the Ogulin-Plaški valley. The line was closed from 1991 to 1995 during the Croatian War of Independence, leaving stations and infrastructure heavily damaged; track reconstruction in 2004–2005 reduced sharp curves and steep sections and installed new signalling.

At Krpelj junction the route joins the M202 mainline, and at Oštarije the HŽPP 7024 bi-mode train switches from diesel to 25 kV electric traction — the catenary from here to Zagreb still carrying older umbrella-style pylons, remnants of a former 3 kV electrification system. The line then follows the Mrežnica river valley downhill through Karlovac, where the Kupa river is one of four rivers meeting the city, before continuing across Zagreb County toward the capital. Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, designed by Hungarian architect Ferenc Pfaff and opened on 18 August 1892, marks the end of a journey that spans 257.1 km and a descent from mountain karst to the Sava plain.