VINKOVCI-BRCKO RAILWAY LINE TO BE OPENED SOON

( Editorial: --> 5018 ) ZAGREB, March 1 (Hina) - A railway section from the eastern Croatian town of Vinkovci to the north Bosnian town of Brcko should be opened by the end of March, Croatian Railways said. The Vinkovci-Brcko railroad is a section of an international railway from the Adriatic through the Croatian port of Ploce, Tuzla (Bosnian Federation), Brcko (Republika Srpska), Vinkovci (Croatia) and Osijek (Croatia) to Budapest. The opening of the section of the railway had been announced earlier, but had been postponed for political reasons. The reconstruction of this section, worth about DM1 million was financed by the US Agency for International Development. The Croatian Railways have reconstructed the bridge on the Bosut river and railway traffic is ongoing between Vinkovci to Drenovci, Croatian Railways General Director, Marijan Klaric, said. The reconstructed railway will at first be used for commercial purposes and for the use of the Stabilisation Force (SFOR). According to a schedule which will be announced in May, a pair of express trains will run from Ploce (Croatia) through Mostar, Sarajevo, Doboj, Tuzla, (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Vinkovci, Djakovo, Osijek (Croatia) to Budapest. Between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes of goods will be transported via the railway from Croatia to Bosnia-Herzegovina, while the Bosnian railway company expects one million tonnes of goods to be transported from Tuzla towards Croatia and western Europe. (hina) lm 011747 MET mar 98