The Zagreb earthquake which struck back in March this year caused a huge amount of disruption in the Croatian capital and the tram lines were far from immune to it. Thankfully, as of today, all of ZET's trams will be running as normal once again, operating along Zagreb's most famous street (Ilica) and passing Ban Jelacic Square, which wasn't possible for several months.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 2nd of July, 2020, all of ZET's tram lines will run according to the valid summer timetable as of today, the 2nd of July, 2020.

After the expert services performed detailed inspections and eliminated the dangers that threatened the lines after the earthquake, and the ZET teams checked the correctness of the tram tracks and the accompanying voltage network, the city's trams will begin running along Jurisiceva, Ilica, Praska and past Ban Jelacic Square again today, ZET reported.

''As of today, all of the tram lines that operated on the altered routes are returning to their usual routes,'' ZET's statement reads.

ZET reports that line 13 (Kvaternikov trg - Zitnjak) is returning to operations, while at the same time the extraordinary bus lines 608 (Trg zrtava fasizma - Vlaska - Kvaternikov trg) and 611 (Glavni kolodvor - Praska) will end.

The final works on the regular maintenance of the tram tracks in the central square are still in progress, but they will no longer affect the use of the tram lines in those areas, which was the case since the earthquake struck earlier this year.

"On this occasion, we once again call on passengers to abide by the Decision of the National Civil Protection Headquarters on the obligation to wear a medical mask or face mask when using public transport, and ZET will, as before, disinfect the vehicles three times a day and ventilate them to reduce the possibility of spreading the coronavirus infection,'' they state from ZET.

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The coronavirus pandemic saw numerous stringent measures introduced in Croatia, and now comes the second phase of loosening them gradually. While buses are in operation, only a select few trams in Zagreb have been. ZET made the decision to slow the return to normal for the trams owing not only to the need to be careful in the handling of coronavirus, but because of the damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of May, 2020, in the second phase of the gradual re-normalisation of ZET's tram transportation, tram line 12 will be put back into service as of today, Monday, May the 4th, and line 5 will return to its usual route, ZET announced on Sunday.

Line 12 will operate on the modified route: Ljubljanica - Ulica Grada Vukovara - Držićeva - Šubićeva - Kvaternikov Square - Maksimirska - Dubrava. At the same time, tram line 5 will operate along its usual route from Monday, Prečko - Savska cesta - Ulica Grada Vukovara - Držićeva - Šubićeva - Kvaternikov Square - Maksimirska - Dubrava.

The statement recalls that as of the end of last month, more precisely April the 27th, tram line 3 has been running along the Ljubljanica - Ulica Grada Vukovara - Savišće route, while line 14 has been running from Zapruđe via the Remetinec roundabout to Ljubljanica.

ZET tram lines will continue to operate according to a customised schedule and more detailed information on the routes, lines, tram numbers and the current schedule, as well as any changes when they come in will be available on ZET's official website.

"ZET's expert services, in cooperation with other emergency services, are on the ground every day and are working intensively to ensure that tram traffic and other lines continue to be gradually established," a statement from ZET said.

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The decision to gradually begin loosening the stringent anti-epidemic measures currently in place in three phases has been accepted as Croatia's coronavirus infection cases continue to dwindle. Just how will the Zagreb public transport company, ZET, re-launch its operations?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of April, 2020, pursuant to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the reintroduction of public city and suburban lines, ZET, the Zagreb public transport company, will re-launch 111 bus routes starting on Monday, April the 27th, 2020, which will operate according to a new, customised timetable.

Due to the damage caused by the recent Zagreb earthquake, established bus lines operating along the tracks of what are otherwise night-time tram routes will continue to bypass Ban Josip Jelačić Square.

Instead of trams, the operation of which is yet to be re-introduced, there will continue to be bus lines operating along the night tram routes (31 Crnomerec - Savski most, 32 Prečko - Borongaj, 33 Gračansko Dolje - Savišće and 34 Ljubljanica - Dubec).

Tram lines will be gradually re-established, depending on the safety assessments and the situation on the tracks they travel along.

According to the recommendations of epidemiologists at the Croatian Institute of Public Health, passengers using Zagreb public transport services should continue to actively maintain a physical distance of at least one metre. It is also advisable to wear protective masks and disinfect your hands before boarding the bus.

ZET will continue to disinfect its vehicles three times a day as they did before lockdown was enforced, and regularly clean and ventilate the vehicles before and after they're driven, as well as when the buses stop at stations, all in order to reduce the possibility of the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

Transportation will be charged for all bus routes starting on Monday and tickets will be available for purchase at the usual points of sale and from the driver. Accordingly, travel using the Zagreb public transport company ZET doesn't require passes issued by the Civil Protection Staff, but merely valid travel tickets as was the case before the pandemic hit Croatia.

Once again, it is of paramount importance that passengers continue to closely follow the directions and instructions of epidemiologists to protect their own health and that of others.

The new driving regime will continue to apply and its continuation as such will depend entirely on the development of the epidemiological situation and further guidance from the competent authorities.

Please click here for a list of bus routes that will be available as of Monday, as well as their accompanying valid schedules.

Here are the lines that will not operate:

As of Monday, April the 27th, the bus lines 104, 108, 111, 114, 140, 145, 150, 165, 169, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 182, 236, 268, 290, 302, 303, 304. 305, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 313, 315, 319, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 330 and 335 will still not be operation.

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Mayor Milan Bandic wants to expand the Zagreb tram network and introduce a tram from Kvaternikov trg (Kvaternik's square) to a residential location close to Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman Airport. Will the mayor's Zagreb Airport tram project manage to get off the ground?

As Vedran Marjanovic/Novac writes on the 4th of March, 2020, the City of Zagreb's administration has announced that Geoprojekt and Elektroprojekt will produce the Zagreb Airport tram project's technical documentation for the construction of the line which will go from Kvaternikov trg to the settlement of Velika Kosnica, located close to Zagreb's Franjo Tudjman Airport, for a price tag of three million and 683 thousand kuna.

The offers put forward by Geoprojekt and Elektroprojekt weere selected as the most favourable of all at a public tender launched by Zagreb's Public Procurement Office, initially announced back at the end of 2016. However, according to the latest information from the Public Procurement Office, the value of the contract has since increased by 683 thousand kuna.

According to the general urban plan of the Croatian capital city, the new tram line would connect Kvaternikov trg and Velika Kosnica with a total length of seventeen kilometres, or 8.5 kilometres with a two-lane traffic line. The aforementioned length doesn't take into account any possible extensions of the tram line from Velika Kosnica to the City Stadium in Velika Gorica and Zagreb Airport.

The envisioned Kvaternikov trg-Velika Kosnica or ''Zagreb Airport tram'' route will be divided into four different sections. The first section relates to the construction of the line along Heinzelova in order to directly connect Kvaternikov trg with Ulica grada Vukovara (Vukovar street). Two sections then relate to the construction of the tram line along Radnicka cesta (road), across Savisce all the way to Domovinski most (Homeland bridge) and the rest relates to the line from Domovinski most to Velika Kosnica.

The planned ''Zagreb Airport tram'' route envisages twelve tram stops, and ZET wouldn't introduce any new tram lines according to the aforementioned guidelines, but would divert the number 2 line now operating from Crnomerec to Savisce. According to the plans, the two would connect the railway and bus stations to Velika Kosnica, or to Zagreb Airport, when the route leads to the airport.

Preparations for the construction of the tram line to Velika Kosnica began back at the end of 2016, when Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic announced that the railway would be finished in 2019, and the total value of the investment stood at 50 million euros. Considering the fact that the contract with Geoprojekt and Elektroprojekt has been established only now, it's uncertain when the construction of the line could actually begin.

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A quick heads up if you live in or are visiting Zagreb this weekend as part of the Croatian capital city will remain without trams over the next couple of days.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 4th of October, 2019,  the number 31 night bus will run as usual tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but the heavily used tram lines on which number 6 and 7 run are going to be changing.

Due to the works taking place on Most Mladosti (Bridge of Youth), Novi Zagreb is set to remain without trams this coming weekend.

As a result, the line of number 607 will be extended, which will operate along the following section: Savski most - Avenija Dubrovnik - Držićeva - Vukovarska, and the updated temporary timetable with more detail on that can be on the ZET website. As previously mentioned, the number 31 night bus will run as usual tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but tram lines 6 and 7 will alter.

Tram number 6 will thus operate along the following section: Črnomerec - Ban Josip Jelačić Square - Main Station (Glavni Kolodvor) - Bus Station (Autobusni Kolodvor) - Heinzelova - Žitnjak. Line number 7, however, will run along the Dubec - Dubrava - Kvaternikov Square - Bus Station (Autobusni Kolodvor) - Heinzelova - Žitnjak route.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 16th of September, 2019, the idea, according to the City of Zagreb's administration, has already been decided upon, and now the likely incredible amount of paperwork on the matter, worth about 300 thousand kuna, must be resolved.

First, they will build an additional line, expand car parking availability, and then ''pull'' a new track from Florijan Andrašec street to Trešnjevački trg (square), Vecernji list writes.

If they manage to hurry up with the project, it could be the first few brand new metres of track to be constructed in the City of Zagreb since the year 2000, when the last piece of track that was constructed reached Prečko, but for now, Zagreb is just looking for a company to conduct the main part of the implementation project for the reconstruction of the track on Vukovarska street along the aforementioned part of the tram tracks.

The work would involve about five hundred metres or so of road. The decision, according to Zagreb's city government, has already been made, and now the previously mentioned papers, all of which are worth around 300,000 kuna in total, must be deal with and things resolved in order to obtain the necessary building permit for the planned works.

Following the issuing of the building permit, the works will then take place in three phases, and in the first phase an additional track will be constructed on the south side of Vukovarska street. It will also house a new southern pavement/walkway and an accompanying bike path, as well as move some of the utility infrastructure installations.

After that, during the second phase of the works, a car park will be built, which will be expanded by 35 additional parking spaces. The third phase will be the construction of a new water supply system.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of August, 2019, Zagreb's electric tram (ZET) has finally begun with the renewal of existing or the creation of new public transport subscription tickets for elementary and secondary school students as well as for students for the new 2019/2020 academic year.

ZET has also recalled the fact that last year's student subscription cards will remain valid until September the 30th this year.

It has also been noted that student statuses will remain valid until October the 31st this year, and further profile extensions for all user groups are a prerequisite for purchasing monthly or annual coupons.

Students who already have a ZET card don't need to go and create a new one, but they do need to extend their student status at any ZET sales point, with a certified request form, and students can now extend their student status based on an electronic base (ISAK).

Status renewal will not be charged, nor will a new photo be required (provided the photo is age appropriate and still looks like you currently do), but the information on the existing card of the customer will be updated upon arrival at the ZET point of sale.

Following numerous international modern business models in public transport, with the aim of raising the overall standards for the City of Zagreb's many students, it will also be possible to significantly extend the existing public transport subscription cards, which will be available for all ZET sales outlets, as well as from ZET's contract partners' newsstands and kiosks (Tisak and iNews).

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Do you use Zagreb's public transport carrier, ZET? Bored of wondering if your bus is ever going to turn up? Thanks to Google Maps, now you'll be able to follow delays, heightened traffic, and more.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of June, 2019, when you choose the starting location and the destination location within the Google Maps, it will show information on the ways of the fastest possible arrival to your desired destination - when it comes to buses, besides the classic information, whether or not traffic levels are normal or if there are delays is also displayed.

Given the crowds on Zagreb's roads, especially during the height of rush hour, it's hard to predict how long it might take to arrive to where you want to get to when using the capital's ZET trams and buses. Although urban public transport of course has its own timetable, it's become quite clear not just in Zagreb but all over the world that buses can't adhere to them during times when there are the biggest crowds, leaving everyone standing rather helplessly at the station simply waiting and hoping the bus they need will come as soon as possible.

As Zimo writes, thanks to Google and the option to track any delays on the roads on Google Maps, now available in 200 cities - including Zagreb, now passengers can track just how delayed ZET buses will be at any given time.

On the Google Maps app for Android and Apple devices, the app will provide information on late ZET buses, as well as a more accurate calculation of the estimated time it will take on the road from your starting location to your final destination, that will be calculated based on live traffic conditions and the route. In addition, places on the road where there is more traffic than usual, causing the buses to be delayed, will also be shown on the app.

In addition to telling you all of this information, alternative routes may also be displayed on the application itself, which may take longer on their own, but with the new data made available on ZET bus delays, travellers will be able to see where the most traffic and delays are located, and have the option to decide on possibly using other routes that would usually take longer.

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ZAGREB, June 10, 2019 - A grant agreement was signed on Monday in Zagreb for the first phase of upgrading the city's tram infrastructure which will incorporate 11 tramline sections, 8,194 metres long, three control stations and the preparation of a transport feasibility study with a total value of 260 million kuna, 85% of which will be covered from the EU Cohesion Fund and 15% from the state budget.

The agreement was signed by Minister of the Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković, the director-general of the city's ZET tram and public bus operator, Ljuba Žgela, and Central Finance and Contracting Agency (SAFU) director Tomislav Petrić.

Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, who attended the ceremony, underscored that the agreement was yet another example of good cooperation that will enable improving the quality of the city's public transport infrastructure, and announced the construction of another 60 low-floor trams.

Minister Butković said that the project of upgrading the tram infrastructure in Zagreb in addition to the procurement of new buses and the construction of the new roundabout at the southern entrance to the city, in all amount to about 430 million kuna in grants, which is confirmation that an investment cycle has launched valued at about 20 billion kuna throughout Croatia.

With today's agreement, we have reached a level of signing contracts for 85% of available funds from Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 - 2020, which is about 11.5 billion kuna in grants for transport projects and 94% of the available funds for European connectivity or an amount of 15 billion kuna in grants for transport projects throughout Croatia, he added.

Žgela recalled that in 2017 the City of Zagreb had signed an agreement for the procurement of 15 new buses valued at 32 million kuna and another agreement in January this year for an additional 29 buses valued at 55 million kuna.

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The general aim is to modernise and improve the quality of Zagreb's tram network, and this particular project does not include the procurement of more trams which is a move that was announced a long time ago.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 30th of May, 2019, a total of 210 million kuna from EU funds and a small part of the Croatian state budget will fund the reconstruction and the modernisation of part of the capital's tram infrastructure, and the Zagreb Electric tram (ZET) project should be completed by 2023, as was confirmed by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds.

The general objective of the project is to modernise and improve the quality of Zagreb's existing tram network in order to properly maintain a good level of public transport services for the City of Zagreb at the EU level regarding safety, reliability, accessibility of persons with disabilities and a significant reduction of negative CO2 emissions.

"The reconstruction of the tram infrastructure includes eleven tramway sections in the length of 8,194 metres, as well as track dismantling, track supply and installation, cable drainage and similar works. The reconstruction and modernisation of these correctional stations will include the procurement and installation of new equipment, works on the reconstruction of the objects themselves and the installation of a cable network,'' the competent ministry explained.

Along with the works, a study on the development of the tram traffic of the City of Zagreb is planned, which aims to analyse the overall state of the tram infrastructure and to introduce measures and targets for its improvement, which should ultimately lead to new projects to be funded from EU funds. Of course, the plan is to fund the project's self-promotion through the development of a communication strategy, the visual identity of the project, slogans and the promotion of activities to further highlight the visibility of the project itself.

As stated in the call for co-financing of the modernisation of Zagreb's tram infrastructure, the maximum amount of grants that can be awarded for the project proposal is up to 210 million kuna, with total available grants from the Cohesion Fund standing at 178.5 million kuna. The percentage of co-financing of eligible costs from Cohesion Fund resources can be up to 85 percent and the mandatory share of national co-financing of eligible costs of at least 15 percent will be provided from the state budget.

The pre-defined applicant is ZET, who has already applied for the call, as was confirmed by that particular Zagreb city company.

For ZET, the modernisation of the capital's trams will ultimately result in an increase in the number of passengers using public transport. As we've come to know, this call refers only to the infrastructure, not to the procurement of trams which has been being discussed in Zagreb for several years now. Whether or not this project is being eagerly awaited by Croatian companies was recently confirmed in a conversation between Poslovni Dnevnik and Darinko Bago, President of the Končar Group's management board.

As it is known, Končar has developed trams, and in Zagreb, 142 of Končar's trams are already in operation. As Bago pointed out, according to city studies, Zagreb should acquire more than sixty new trams, replacing the old and overworked trams that have been driving around the city for around half a century.

''We're very interested in that," Bago stated.

The time frame in which this project can be expected hasn't yet been revealed.

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Click here for the original article by Marija Crnjak for Poslovni Dnevnik