Croatian authorities have commissioned the country's first diesel-catenary train, with domestic manufacturer Končar delivering the bimode unit to the national passenger operator under a contract that places the engineering, assembly and through-life support inside Croatia.

The handover marks the debut of bimode traction on the Croatian network. The diesel-catenary configuration pairs electric operation under overhead catenary with an on-board diesel powerpack for unwired stretches, letting a single consist run through both wired trunks and diesel branches without a locomotive change. Operators in neighbouring countries have moved to similar platforms to bridge partial electrification, and the Croatian order extends that pattern to a market where EMU and DMU fleets have long coexisted.

What does a diesel-catenary trainset actually do?

Under wire, the train draws current through its pantograph and runs as an electric multiple unit. Once the consist leaves the overhead or moves onto a non-electrified branch, the diesel powerpack takes over and carries the train to its destination without a change of traction. That removes the dwell-time penalty of splitting and joining services at the electrification boundary, and removes the need for separate diesel-only and electric-only rosters on routes that cross both line types.

For operators with ageing diesel railcars and a partly electrified network, the bimode option typically replaces both fleets on mixed-traffic routes, simplifying timetables and cutting the platform length required at interchange stations.

Why does Croatia need bimode traction now?

Croatia's main corridors — Zagreb to Rijeka, Zagreb to Split and Zagreb to Osijek — carry overhead power, but the bulk of the secondary network still relies on diesel traction or on bus substitution for low-density routes. The national passenger operator has historically met that split by running dedicated EMUs on the electrified core and diesel units onto branches, then asking passengers to change at the junctions where the wires end.

The arrangement has constrained regional service quality. Diesel trains must wait at electrified junctions for connections or operate to and from the same stations on feeder roads, leaving journey times long enough to push travellers towards cars on competitive corridors. A diesel-catenary unit enables through running from an electrified trunk onto a regional branch using a single consist, restoring direct connections without requiring further overhead extension.

What does local supply bring?

Končar Group, headquartered in Zagreb, is one of the few rolling stock builders operating inside the Croatian market. The group's rail subsidiary has delivered low-floor electric multiple units and coaches to the domestic passenger operator and to export customers in the Western Balkans, building a regional track record in electric traction and a parts supply chain that Croatian depots already maintain.

Bringing the diesel-catenary platform through domestic engineering keeps design, assembly, commissioning and after-sales support inside the country, cutting spare-parts lead times and supporting a local industrial base. The commissioning also follows a wider Central European trend, where operators have turned to bimode configurations as a cheaper alternative to extending catenary onto lightly used regional lines.

What happens next?

Croatian operators will now log reliability, fuel burn, emissions and maintenance data over the unit's first commercial months. Performance figures from this pilot are likely to shape any procurement for additional regional units in the multi-year fleet renewal programme, where domestic suppliers typically retain a strong position under national procurement rules and any EU-funded tendering that accompanies the renewal.