For the first time in more than two decades, trains are running again between main cities in Slavonia and the Dalmatian summer hub of Split.
Setting off from Vukovar late afternoon and Osijek in the evening, two services will be taking holidaymakers to the Adriatic coast via Zagreb until early September.
While the journey may be a bit on the long side, 14 hours in both cases, the fact that HŽPP, the Croatian national rail company, is offering long-distance cross-country routes marks a sea change in policy. With EU countries now receiving support to improve their rail stock and services, all across Europe travellers are welcoming what is being hailed as a new age of rail.
While Croatia still has a long way to go, the Slavonia-Split service and new trains introduced to Istria this March signal a long-awaited if gradual rail revolution.
See here for the schedule from Slavonia to Split – although in Croatian, times and destinations should be easy to follow. Svakodnevno is 'every day' and od ponedjeljka do subote means ‘Not Sundays’. You can buy tickets for Croatian trains in English here.