November 6, 2019 - Split mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara commented on discontinuing the metro from Kopilica to the ferry port, saying that the line had not been discontinued, but only transformed into an integrated bus and rail link between the Split airport and the ferry port.

Opara explained for Slobodna Dalmacija: “You journalists called it the metro, we never called it that, it is yet to become that. The line between Kopilica and the City port has not been discontinued; it has been transformed into a transportation link connecting our airport with an integrated line. Anyone who buys a ticket at the Split airport for 25 kuna can board the train Kastel Luksic and continue to the ferry port, which has a stop in Kopilica as well.

We changed the timetable because the passenger intensity is lower and is now getting a new shape by merging Kastela, Solin, and Split, which is what we wanted. This is just the beginning of a long story that will have its finale when we connect the airport with the ferry port. We have now combined it by integrating the bus and rail,” the mayor explained.

When asked by a journalist about the difference between the metro and the line that usually departs from Kastela, stops at Kopilica and continues to the ferry port, Opara replied that, in the meantime, an integrated ticket had been released that has been used in recent weeks.

He explained that passengers now have the opportunity to take an exclusive "Promet" bus line from the airport to Kastel Luksic, and then use the same ticket for the train to the ferry port, which stops in Kopilica.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to connect the airport with the ferry port by rail, for which not all the necessary preconditions have been created, which primarily relate to the construction of part of the railway line in Kastela itself. According to the mayor, this will not happen so fast. However, Opara announced interventions that will occur around Split next year.

“During the winter, we will start the works in Dujmovača; something halted the building permits on Širina and in Sv. Kaji, but as far as I can tell, this has been resolved, so next year, we will have those two stations ready. A process is underway at Trgu hrvatske bratske zajednice to change the DPU, which is necessary to get started on opening that station.

There were two tenders for the HZPP to design the underground station, and the second one succeeded. It will give new meaning to all this work that we insist on doing,”  said the mayor.

How much money would be spent on the entire project could not be said at this time, except for that Promet would participate by contributing one-third of the whole amount.

When asked if the City profited from passengers traveling between Kopilica and the ferry port this summer, Opara explained that this could not be discussed because the project has just begun.

"The project may not be as popular in the beginning as it will be in the future, but we were ready for it," he added.

Thus, connecting the airport and the ferry terminal will not be feasible until next summer.

“I have to say openly that for our part, we did everything we needed, the Ministry also, and doubts existed with our colleagues in Kastela. I am glad to hear that they have introduced a railway line in the changes to the spatial plan, which is also envisaged by the Spatial draft plan of Split-Dalmatia County. However, the tracks they offered were still under evaluation. We expect that this will take a full year and that a quality route will be decided. Until then, we will make amendments like this with integrated traffic,” Opara concluded, saying that the whole process has taken too long.

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After a brief, and yet very unsuccessful existence, the Split Metro is getting shut down tomorrow.

It was in operation for 142 days, and ever since it was introduced on June the 11th, it was quite obvious to most that it wasn't going to be successful, so Split's municipal transport company "Promet" announced quietly that this Sunday, November 3rd, at 21:30 is the last time the train will be operating. They haven't really announced it at all, just the schedule on the Promet's website shows that it won't be operating after that.

In its unsuccessful 142 days, Croatian media supposes that it hasn't seen that many passengers. It often operated completely empty, and only took staff members from the Split ferry port to the Kopilica station (yes, there was just one station, and the distance it covered was around 2 kilometres). The ticket was 11 kuna, so if you have one of them, you have a piece of history you might want to hold onto.

Slobodna Dalmacija asked Croatian Railways Passenger Transport (HŽ) about the future of the line if maybe it would operate again next summer, but they replied that there are no plans for that as of now. The trains that serviced this line will run to Kaštela in the upcoming period. Supposedly, Kaštela asked for another rail line, and this is how that problem has been solved.

We've seen so many jokes and puns directed at the project which was doomed from its inception, as it never really made sense in 2019 when none of the things it was supposed to support became fully operational. Maybe, sometime in the future, once the bus terminal finally gets moved to Kopilica, it will make sense to bring the Split Metro back. Or even something a bit more modern.

October 7, 2019 - The strategic project connecting the Split ferry port and airport, unofficially estimated at a total of 150 million euro, got a new twist last week.

As T.portal confirmed by several sources, after a disagreement that the future railways should pass through Kastela, a completely new route surfaced amid the chaos. 

According to the proposal made by HŽ Infrastruktura to the Ministry of Transport, the trains would run on an overhead line that is parallel to the Split-Trogir highway, mostly on the pillars that would sit between its two lanes.

“This solution is only slightly more expensive than the route proposed by the City of Kastela, which, in one part, rises to a relatively high altitude and almost completely bypasses populated areas. On the other hand, it is much cheaper than installing a railway line in a tunnel or a buried pipe in the lower part of Kastela, which was insisted by local authorities, and thus could be financed from European funds. Third, there are no property and legal issues on this route, while the performance itself would be relatively straightforward. It would not even be necessary to close the entire expressway for traffic, but only possibly one of its lanes,” said T.portal’s source. 

In addition to the Ministry of Transport, a proposal for a new, fourth route of the railway through Kastela was sent to consultants from Ernst & Young, who will make an assessment of its cost-effectiveness in the next month, and include it in an already completed study, followed by a change of spatial plans.

At a government session last May in Split, connecting the Split ferry port and airport was declared a project of strategic national importance, which implies, among other things, possible funding from European funds from 2020 to 2027. It should be suitable because Split airport handles 3.3 million passengers per year and the ferry port over 5.5 million, while the daily migrations of Split and Kastela residents should be added.

In fact, there are already 18 kilometers of railroad tracks between the two endpoints that need to be thoroughly reconstructed, and the added section - depending on whether it would be separated in Kastel Kambelovac or Kastel Stari - would be between eight and ten kilometers long. The final train station would be located south of the newly built Split Airport terminal, though there are ideas to move it to nearby Trogir.

Small suburban trains have been operating between a part of Kastela and Split for a long time, and since this summer, the famous 'mini-metro' between the Split suburbs and the city center has been in operation. However, the mini-metro has recorded a low number in passengers - reportedly only one per ride on average - but city officials continue to say that 'citizens should get used to this option' and that everything will make sense when the airport and ferry are connected with one logical and complete project.

It was announced that several existing railway stations in Split, Solin, and Kastela would be reconstructed by next summer, and HŽ Infrastruktura also signed a 2.7 million kuna contract last week to develop the technical documentation of the underground station at Trg Hrvatske bratske zajednice, exactly halfway between Kopilica and the port, in the administrative part of town, near the court and the police. 

The station should adapt to new security conditions and be about a hundred meters long, with platforms and exits to Trg Hrvatske bratske zajednice. The same project envisages the installation of a ventilation and fire-fighting system and other equipment in the Split 'metro' tunnel. 

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September 12, 2019 - Will Split ever see an airport train? A look into why things are so behind schedule. 

Splitski Dnevnik reports that just before the start of the tourist season, the City of Split solemnly marked the first ride of the "Split metro," as the train ran from Kopilica to the central station.

It was envisaged that the complete bus station would be moved to Kopilica and thus relieve the center of Split from unbearable traffic jams, especially during the tourist season. However, the inaugural ride was held, and the station stayed put.

You might recall that all this is only part of the mega-project connecting the Split airport with the city of Split, which, as expected, is delayed. 

Split is nowhere near the construction of the new railway line, as no decisions have been made as to where it will be built. The project is also currently without European money.

The four-minute drive from Kopilica station to the city port and back runs 105 lines per day. From 11 June to 10 September, 5300 passengers were transported in both directions. During the 90 days of the tourist season, 9,450 trips were made, which means that on average, the train carried half a person, and with tickets costing 11 kuna, 58,300 kuna was earned.

While some of you might gather that operating empty trains hardly makes sense, the Split mayor sees no problem in these statistics.

"We are persistent in this and believe that citizens are adopting this short but very valuable traffic route every day," said Andro Krstulovic Opara, Mayor of Split.

Opara believes that this route will come to life when the link between Split and Split airport is in operation, though there have been no movements on the 150 million euro project yet.

"It may be going at a pace that is a little slower than expected. We are waiting for more approvals that are needed from the City of Kastela and its representatives,” said Mirjana Cagalj, the Project Coordinator.

Recall, the new railway should be built through Kastela.

The mayor of Kastela was offered three options. All three would use part of the existing railway to be reconstructed - and then, either from Kaštel Stari or from Kaštel Kambelovac, new tracks would be built to the airport, on three different routes. The authors of the project were in favor of the first, cheapest option, but this did not suit the people of Kastela.

"It was not acceptable to us because some buildings would be damaged there, fields would be damaged, one sanctuary would be destroyed, and we were looking for the best option," claimed Denis Ivanovic, Mayor of Kastela.

According to the second and third options, the old railway would be reconstructed right up to the Kaštel Kambelovac station, where the new railway would start. Kastela demanded that in this version, the railroad that runs through the city itself be dug into the tunnel, which would increase the price by 10 to 20 million euro. 

This was not acceptable to the Ministry of Transport. However, the light at the end of the railway tunnel was turned on by Ivanovic, who presented a counter-proposal that resembles the first version with minor changes to the final route. Thus, a green light from Zagreb awaits. 

"We have tested the soil, we have tested the terrain, and I believe that it will be acceptable now," Ivanovic is convinced.

It should all be done in five years, but as EU money is required to complete the project, and the route still unknown, passengers will continue to be taken by bus from the airport to the future temporary bus station in Kopilica.

However, citizens who live in the immediate vicinity of the future bus station are not so keen.

"The traffic will be half a meter away from the bedroom windows. When Chief Vojnovic was here, at the presentation of the future temporary bus station, when he came here, outside my door in courtyard, the only protection he offered were panels like on the highway,” said Edita Baric, a resident of Kopilica.

The mayor, however, is immune to the objections of fellow citizens.

“We are persistent in the decision to move part of the bus station to Kopilica. Kopilica will come to life the moment the rail traffic between Solin and Kastela increases,” said Andro Krstulovic Opara.

Opara urges citizens to be patient because buses are only a “temporary” solution. 

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July 2, 2019 - Not even one month after the city and county leaders were photographed in the brand new, air-conditioned train on the inaugural ride from Kopilica to the Split Ferry Port, a dated, vintage locomotive could be seen on the Split railroad tracks this week.

So, why has a much older model replaced our modern metro? Slobodna Dalmacija consulted HŽ Passenger Transport Company to find out more. 

“Since we have a new 7023 series train running on the Split - Split suburbs route and vice versa, on which the air conditioner broke the day before yesterday, in its place is the diesel-motor train of the 7122 series. Ongoing repairs of the new train are in progress, after which it will be in circulation again,” replied the state transport company.

The interest for the new Split metro can be seen by the fact that from June 11 to 30 June, from the central station at the Split Ferry Port to the station in Kopilica, the HŽ Passenger Transport company sold 670 return tickets together with HŽ and ‘Promet’, or just over 35 per day.

Since data for June is still being collected, as tickets are sold by both HŽ and the city public transport company ‘Promet’, at the end of the month, however, the calculation may be somewhat more favorable for passengers.

Whether the number of passengers will increase, time will tell, though it might help if the metro kept to their schedule. 

Namely, as readers revealed to Slobodna Dalmacija, one train scheduled to depart from Kopilica at 2:03 pm didn’t leave a half hour later!

“The worst is that none of the employees knew which train was departing. Thus, 50 passengers changed trains three times, and in the end, we didn’t even leave until 2:40. In the heat they moved us from train to train rather than let us at least stand in the waiting room,” the reader testified.

HŽ said that the cause of the delay was from a defect on the train that drove from Split to Kaštel Stari.

“Because of this, there was a delay for trains in urban-suburban transport. A substitute train has been introduced in traffic and the traffic is gradually normalized. We apologize to passengers who had difficulties with the train delays,” said HŽ Passenger Transport.

On the bright side, Split’s sense of humour has shined through the new metro fiasco, which you can see in the memes below.

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June 11, 2019 - The new Split metro officially began operations from Kopilica station to the Split ferry port on Tuesday. While the metro was originally scheduled to depart on its first trip at 10:11 am this morning, it left three minutes late, at 10:14. The trip, however, did only take the take four minutes from Kopilica to the ferry port, as all announcements said previously, reports Dalmatinski portal.

The inaugural ride was hosted by representatives of HŽ Infrastructure and HŽ Passenger Transport together with representatives of the City of Split. The first train ride was attended by Split mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, along with his deputies and many media representatives. 

Recall, a ticket for the new metro will be valid for 75 minutes, during which passengers can also travel on the Promet buses. The ticket for the first zone will cost 11 kuna. The metro will drive every 20 minutes and take only four minutes each way. 

Recall, Deputy Mayor Neno Vela originally announced the new metro to begin on June 9.  This new traffic measure will unload and load tour bus passengers at the new Kopilica station and facilitate travel into the city center. Namely, passengers can travel for 11 kuna via the metro from the Municipal Rail Station in Kopilica to the Split Ferry Port. 

The new measure also encourages buses outside of the congested city center to relieve summer traffic. We announced last month that if tour buses did want to load and unload their passengers at the terminals at the Tourist Palace in the city center, they are limited to 15 minutes and will walk out with empty pockets. Namely, the buses who wish to bring their tourists to the Riva will have to pay 800 kuna (400 for unloading passengers, 400 for loading). Until now, they've paid 50 kuna. Kopilica, on the other hand, will boast a parking lot for 48 tour buses, and the daily parking fee for buses will cost 120 kuna (the same parking fee as Dračevac). 

"The organization of the Main Railway Station in Kopilica and the introduction of the city metro in the service of public transport is expected to reduce the pressure of vehicles, especially tourist buses at the center of the city. Passengers can get to the center in just four minutes with the new metro and by using a single ticket that is valid for the train and bus, issued by the hour. City trains on the route from Kopilica - Ferry Port and vice versa will travel every 20 minutes,” reads the correspondence sent to the travel agencies, which is signed by Deputy Mayor Nino Vela.

The announcement added that these measures are being introduced so that the “arrival of tourists in the destination is as pleasant as possible, and so that they do not waste time standing in queues, but also to make sure that the local population feels less pressure of tourist flows."

This new traffic measure if just part of it, as one-way traffic will also be introduced at the Split Ferry Port on June 17.

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Splitski Dnevnik writes on May 28, 2019, that we are just a few days away from the new traffic regulations in the center of Split. Allegedly, this will lead traffic outside the center of the city, which is becoming increasingly more congested year after year - and is, precisely, the consequence of transitioning from a port city to a booming tourist destination. 

And indeed, in recent years, cars have moved at the speed of snails down Ul. Kralj Zvonimira, making it much quicker to travel on foot in the hot summer season. The City of Split even announced that the regulations in the city center would also ease the life of tenants in the center. It's true, something needed to be done, though how it will go remains to be seen. 

Another, rather exciting part of the new traffic regulation comes June 9. While one-way traffic will already be introduced at the Split Ferry Port, the Main Railway Station in Kopilica will begin operating. Thus, tour bus passengers will be unloaded and loaded at the new Kopilica station and can travel for 11 kuna via public city transport from the Municipal Rail Station in Kopilica to the Split Ferry Port. Kopilica will boast a parking lot for 48 tour buses, and the daily parking fee for buses will cost 120 kuna (the same parking fee as Dračevac).

However, if tour buses did want to load and unload their passengers at the terminals at the Tourist Palace in the city center, they are limited to 15 minutes and will walk out with empty pockets. Namely, the buses who wish to bring their tourists to the Riva will have to pay 800 kuna (400 for unloading passengers, 400 for loading). Until now, they've paid 50 kuna.

"The organization of the Main Railway Station in Kopilica and the introduction of the city rail service in the service of public transport is expected to reduce the pressure of vehicles, especially tourist buses at the center of the city. Passengers can get to the center in just four minutes with the new metro and by using a unique ticket that is valid for the train and bus, issued by the hour. City trains on the route from Kopilica - Ferry Port and vice versa will travel every 20 minutes,” reads the correspondence sent to the travel agencies, which is signed by Deputy Mayor Nino Vela.

The announcement added that these measures are being introduced so that the “arrival of tourists in the destination is as pleasant as possible, and so that they do not waste time standing in queues, but also to make sure that the local population feels less pressure of tourist flows."

Thus, passengers are being shifted from the bus to the city train, as a way to make the temporary station project survive. Recall, 800 kuna is no small amount, and it is only logical to think that most carriers would decide against paying the fee to enter the center to unload their passengers. In Kopilica, every passenger is paying only 11 kuna to get to the city center. We just hope that it will truly only take four minutes to get there.

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