About this journey

Ogulin station sits at a decisive point in the Croatian rail network: the place where electrification from Zagreb ends and trains transition to diesel traction for the onward journey south and west. From here the route heads toward Rijeka on a line whose construction began in spring 1913, built from Ogulin southwards by the Grünwald und Schiffer company following mapping surveys conducted in 1912. At its peak in June 1914, some 14,000 workers were employed simultaneously on the construction site, a measure of the engineering ambition the project demanded.

The journey ends at Rijeka station, a terminus with deep imperial roots. The station first opened on 25 June 1873, when rail routes from Budapest via Zagreb and from Vienna via Ljubljana and Pivka reached the Adriatic. The building that stands today was constructed from 1889 to 1891 to designs by Budapest architect Ferenc Pfaff, its 150-metre neoclassical arcaded facade reflecting the Hungarian and Habsburg ambitions that drove the railway to this coast. Since 1991 the station has been operated by Croatian Railways. The contrast between Ogulin — a functional junction where traction changes and mountain railway begins — and Rijeka's grand imperial terminus frames the character of the whole ride.