About this journey

Osijek station, one of the larger stations in Croatia, sits in the city centre and serves as a junction where several lines converge, including the M301 toward Budapest and the M302 toward Strizivojna-Vrpolje. From here the journey heads west and northwest along the R202 railway, the non-electrified, mostly single-tracked regional line that runs 249.839 kilometres between Dalj and Varaždin.

The R202 crosses the Croatian interior at a measured pace, its single track a contrast to the heavier corridors it connects. At Koprivnica the character of the railway changes entirely. There the R202 meets the M201, the electrified main line linking Budapest and Zagreb that forms part of Pan-European Corridor V, branch b, between Rijeka and Budapest. The M201 through Koprivnica has been undergoing substantial reconstruction: the Križevci–Koprivnica section is being converted from single to double track over 42.6 kilometres, with 7 new bridges, 3 viaducts — one designed as a wildlife crossing — and the elimination of all level crossings in favour of grade-separated solutions. Once complete, the corridor will allow speeds of up to 160 km/h. The journey from Osijek to Koprivnica thus moves from a quiet regional railway to one of Croatia's most actively upgraded rail corridors.