Rijeka - Transport

Transport

The Port of Rijeka is the largest port in Croatia, with a cargo throughput in 2010 of 10.2 million tonnes, most of which is was oil, general cargo and bulk cargo and 137,048 TEUs. In 2008 the Port of Rijeka recorded 4376 ship arrivals. The port is managed by the Port of Rijeka Authority. The first record of a port in Rijeka date back to 1281, and in 1719, the Port of Rijeka was granted a charter as a free port. Good ferry connections with the surrounding islands and cities within Croatia exist in Rijeka, but no direct foreign passenger ship connections. There are coastal lines to Split and onwards to Dubrovnik operated twice a week, which has international connections. Pula offers more direct southward connections from northwestern Croatia.

Rijeka has efficient road connections to other parts of Croatia and neighbouring countries. The A6 motorway connects Rijeka to Zagreb via the A1, while the A7 motorway, completed in 2004, links Rijeka with Ljubljana, Slovenia via Ilirska Bistrica and Italy. The A7 acts as the Rijeka bypass motorway and facilitates access to the A8 motorway of the Istrian Y network starting with the Učka Tunnel, and linking Rijeka with Istria peninsula. As of August 2011, the bypass is being extended east towards the Krk Bridge area and new feeder roads are under construction.

The city is difficult to get to by air; there is Rijeka Airport, city's own international airport, but the airport is located on the nearby island of Krk with the tolled Krk Bridge in between. Handling only 130,000 passengers in 2005, and projected to handle only 250,000 by 2008, the facility is more of a charter airport than a serious transport hub, although various scheduled airlines have begun to serve it.

Rijeka is well integrated into the Croatian railway network and critical international rail lines. A fully electrified railway connects Rijeka to Zagreb and beyond towards Koprivnica and the Hungarian border as part of the Pan-European corridor Vb. Rijeka is also connected to Trieste and Ljubljana by a separate electrified line that extends northwards from the city. Rijeka is well connected by direct train, with daily trains to Vienna, Munich, and Salzburg, and direct night trains running to Rijeka from these two cities. Construction of a new high performance railway between Rijeka and Zagreb, extending to Budapest is planned, as well as rail links connecting Rijeka to the Krk Island and between Rijeka and Pula.