Construction of the railway network in coastal Croatia began in the 19th century. Although the 19th and 20th centuries were marked by numerous political changes, the construction of the railway network continued until the 1960s when the construction of new rails stopped. In the period from 1997 to 2017 in coastal Croatia there is a constant decrease in the number of passengers. While in 1997 there were about 100,000 passengers in the Zadar County, in 2017 as a result of the abolition of railway passenger lines, passenger traffic by rail was almost completely shut down. The influence of the railway on the formation of areas in coastal Croatia can be traced back to the second half of the 20th century, when the railway affects the formation of the urban fabric of coastal cities such as Split, Rijeka and Zadar. Although the processes of forming was weaker by intensity it was still present. The most obvious examples are the connection of mines and railways. Looking at the railway traffic, the biggest problem in the coastal Croatia is the weak connection of the population centers. Railway lines are fragmented and link only segregated parts of the region. During the past, the railway network in coastal Croatia was built partially and depending on the needs of the economy and it can be concluded that it was in a positive correlation with the development of the industry. Today, the situation has changed considerably and the railroad has almost completely lost its former meaning.