Mostar railway station

Railway station in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar

Location within Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar railway station (Bosnian: Željeznička stanica Mostar) is a railway station located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the eastern part of the city, near the Carinski Bridge, on Maršala Tita Street. The terminal also includes a bus station.

History

The station opened on 14 June 1885, when the first section of the Southern Railway was completed^[2] with some rail traffic had already commenced on 26 January 1885. Built with authorization of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to better to establish communication from the interior to the sea, the line runs through the valley of the Neretva River.^[3] The line was built to Bosnian gauge of 760mm.

The opening of the station was a huge social event for the city, which was gradually modernizing after centuries of Turkish rule. The old railway station, built entirely in the spirit of Austro-Hungarian architecture, was known primarily for the fact that there was an entrance to the waiting room from the street side and then an entrance to the platform from the other side. In 1963 the line was realigned and rebuilt to Standard gauge; as a result, a number of stations along the line were upgraded, including Mostar. The new station was relocated from its original location, the original station was demolished, with a new street in the city built on the track alignment. The new modern, spacious terminal with two platforms was built in Brutalist style. The new line was officially opened on 26 and 27 November 1966. The line was electrified by 1969, becoming Yugoslavia's first AC-electrified rail line.^[2]

By early 1992, the Ploče-Sarajevo railway bosted APB, remote control of traction, and remote control of traffic to ensure a high level of safety in rail traffic and new rollingstock, making it one of the most modern railways in Europe.^[2] However, in 1992, in connection with the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Railway facilities and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed, with the original railway archive located in the station area burned. The total damage is estimated at $1 billion US dollars.^[2] The line was closed from 2015 to 2017 for repairs and upgrades.^[4] Today the station still operates, but is slightly rundown and with only a few long-distance services.

In early February 2020, the station was hit by storm force winds that damaged parts of the roof of the main building. In March, the still damaged building was flooded, with passengers forced to access the platforms through the adjacent building.^[5]

Services

Trains

Since 2010 passenger service uses Talgo trains.^[6] The Sarajevo–Ploče line was closed from 2015 to 2017^[7] for repairs and upgrades.^[8] Passenger service did not extend into Croatia; the final distance from Čapljina at the border to Ploče, where a rail replacement bus service was in operation.^[8] Nonetheless, during the summer of 2022, the Talgo service from Sarajevo was extended to the Croatian coastal town of Ploče during the weekends. Starting from 1 July 2022.^[9] until 11 September 2022 the train runs three times a week, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.^[10]

Čapljina – Mostar – Konjic – Sarajevo (two per day and direction)^[11]

The trains are operated by Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ŽFBH).

Buses

Mostar bus station is outside the railway station with coaches to many destinations in BiH and surrounding countries.

City buses also serve the station.

Station layout

L Ground/Concourse	Customer service	Tickets/Exits
Level Ε1	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 1	Intercity towards Ploče ←
	Platform 2	Intercity towards Sarajevo →
	Island platform, doors on the right/left
	Platform 3	In non-regular use

Gallery

Platforms of Mostar railway station, in the background Hum mountain, May 2012
The station forecourt, October 2019

References

^ "Dolazak / odlazak vozom". www-turizam-mostar-ba.translate.goog. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "HISTORY". www.zfbh.ba. zfbh. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Prije 130 godina prvi voz ušao u Mostar: Predivne fotografije "Ćire" na putovanjima kroz BiH". www.klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 11 February 2023.
^ Spaic, Igor (8 June 2017). "Bosnians' Beloved Train to the South Departs Again". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
^ "Poplavila željeznička stanica u Mostaru, putnici karte kupuju u vozu". www.klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^ "Bosnia-Herzegovina: Doboj-Sarajevo route served by Talgo train". 11 May 2022.
^ Dixon, Rachel (5 May 2018). "18 of the world's best rail journeys". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Bosnians' Beloved Train to the South Departs Again | Balkan Insight". 8 June 2017.
^ "Objavljeni detalji željezničke linije Sarajevo - Ploče: Gdje i do kada putnici mogu kupiti karte". www.klix.ba (in Croatian). Retrieved 17 February 2023.
^ "Dubrovački - Za koji dan ponovno kreće legendarna pruga od Ploča do Sarajeva, jedina koja povezuje BiH s Dalmacijom. No mnogi se pitaju isto, a sve će vam biti jasno kada vidite fotografije". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 24 June 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Red voznje za 2015/2016 godinu u PDF formatu" (PDF). Izvod iz reda vožnje (Excerpt from timetable) (in Bosnian). Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.