M501 railway (Croatia)

Čakovec-Kotoriba railway
Between Čakovec and Čakovec-Buzovec M501 railway (left)
runs parallel to L101 railway (right), both are single tracked.
Overview
Line numberM501 (HŽ)
History
Opened24 April 1860 (1860-04-24)
Technical
Line length42.4 km (26.3 mi)
Track gauge1435 mm
Operating speedUp to 100 km/h (62.13 mph)
Route map

Legend
to Ljubljana via Pragersko
51.9
Slovenia-Croatia border
53.5
 Macinec
Trnava
57.1
 Dunjkovec
D209 state road
R201 to Varaždin
60.8
 Čakovec
62.8
 Čakovec Buzovec
L101 to Mursko Središće and Lendava
Trnava
D3 state road
69.7
 Mala Subotica
A4 motorway
76.0
 Čehovec
78.2
 Donji Kraljevec
81.3
 Goričan
84.3
 Donji Mihaljevec
90.9
 Kotoriba
94.2
Croatia-Hungary border, Mura river bridge
to Gyékényes
 Murakeresztúr
to Budapest

The state border–Čakovec–Kotoriba–state border railway (Croatian: Pruga državna granica–Čakovec–Kotoriba–državna granica), officially designated as the M501 railway, is a 42.4-kilometre (26.3 mi) railway line in Croatia that connects the towns of Čakovec and Kotoriba to Slovene railway network via Pragersko and the Hungarian capital city Budapest via Murakeresztúr.[1][maps 1] The line is single-tracked and non-electrified, used for freight and passenger (local/commuter) transport.[2][3]

The M501 railway connects to the rest of the Croatian railway network in Čakovec, where the R201 line extending south to Varaždin forms a junction with the M501. The M501 also connects to the L101 in Čakovec. The L101 serves Mursko Središće to the north of the M501 and also the town of Lendava in Slovenia.[4]

History

The Čakovec–Kotoriba railway was opened on 24 April 1860 as part of a railway line from Nagykanizsa to Pragersko,[5] in order to connect Budapest to the existing Vienna–Trieste railway. This was the first railroad built in present-day Croatia.[6] The route had three railway stations in Kotoriba, Donji Kraljevec, and Čakovec.[6]

In 1863 they were built new railway stations in Mala Subotica and Donji Mihaljevec, in 1920 was opened railway stop Čakovec-Buzovec, and in 1940s were opened railway stops in Čehovec, Macinec, and Dunjkovec.[6]

In 194, during the World War II, the bridge over river Mura was blown up, but the second one was already built before end of the war.[6]

Reconstruction of the Čakovec - Kotoriba section (2020 - 2024)

Between 2020 and 2024, the entire section between Čakovec and Kotoriba was reconstructed, which included renovation of entire upper rail structure along the route, reconstruction of culverts, replacement of the old passenger platforms with new ones at Čakovec Buzovec stop and Donji Kraljevec / Mala Subotica stations, reconstruction of at-grade railway crossings and installation of canopies at Čakovec - Buzovec / Čehovec stops. End of the reconstruction resulted in raising of the maximum permitted operation speed for trains to 100 km/h.[7]

  • Čakovec main railway station
    Čakovec main railway station
  • Buzovec, suburban railway station in Čakovec
    Buzovec, suburban railway station in Čakovec

See also

Maps

  1. ^ Overview map of the state border–Čakovec–Kotoriba–state border railway (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved December 11, 2013.

References

  1. ^ "Odluka o razvrstavanju željezničkih pruga" [Decision on Classification of Railways]. Narodne novine (in Croatian). Government of Croatia. 2006.
  2. ^ "Annex 3.3. Types of Lines". Network Statement 2014. HŽ Infrastruktura. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04.
  3. ^ "Annex 3.6. Electrification System". Network Statement 2014. HŽ Infrastruktura. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04.
  4. ^ "Karta pruga" [Railway map] (in Croatian). Croatian Railways. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17.
  5. ^ Strach (1898) v 1.1, p. 410
  6. ^ a b c d Dragutin Matotek (2010). "Proslava 150 godina željeznice u Hrvatskoj" (PDF). Građevinar (in Croatian). 62 (5). Zagreb, Croatia: Croatian Association of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  7. ^ "Na pruzi Čakovec - Kotoriba uskoro brzina vlakova 100 km na sat". Vijesti iz Međimurja | medjimurski.hr (in Croatian). 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2023-03-28.

Bibliography

Media related to M501 railway (Croatia) at Wikimedia Commons