Trains in Slovenia, how the system works

How to buy a train ticket

You can buy at the ticket office, from a machine, online or in the Grem z vlakom app, and domestic journeys don’t usually need booking. Tickets are sold on board too, but if you boarded at a station with an open ticket office the conductor charges a €12 penalty. Higher-category trains, IC, MV, EC, EN and ICS, carry a supplement of €2 bought in advance or €4 on the train, and a seat reservation costs €1.50. Refuse a ticket check or show an invalid ticket and you pay the fare plus €50.

The main train lines

The network reaches every region. The Tourist Board picks out Ljubljana-Maribor as the busiest, served by ICS Pendolino tilting trains with fewer stops. The other key lines are Ljubljana-Koper for the coast, Ljubljana-Jesenice for Austria, Ljubljana-Sežana for Trieste, Ljubljana-Novo mesto-Metlika in the south-east and Ljubljana-Zidani Most-Dobova for Zagreb, plus Maribor-Hodoš for Hungary. The most popular trip east is covered in Ljubljana to Maribor.

Bled and Bohinj by train

Bled has two stations. Lesce-Bled is on the main line, about 4 km from the lake, which you cover on foot, by bike or by bus. Bled Jezero is by the lake itself, reached by changing at Jesenice or by direct train at weekends. Further on, through the Bohinj tunnel, the longest in the country, the car train runs between Bohinjska Bistrica and Most na Soči, with some services to Nova Gorica. It takes cars, vans and motorhomes up to 3 m high, and you pay the conductor. How to combine it with the lake is in Bled to Bohinj.

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Children, young people and bikes

Under-6s travel free, up to two per adult, as long as they don’t take a paying seat, though they need a ticket from the office. Children aged 6 to 15 get 50% off, and the youth card, for ages 15 to 26, gives 30% off. A bicycle costs €3 per journey, bought on board, with no reservations. Slovenske železnice recommends avoiding weekday peak hours with a bike, 6 to 8am and 2 to 4pm.

Helpline and information

Buses and the other options are in getting around Slovenia. Slovenske železnice has InfoCentre offices at Koper, Ljubljana, Celje and Maribor stations, and a free phone number, 080 81 11, from within Slovenia, or +386 1 29 13 331 from abroad. Trains to other countries are covered in trains to Slovenia.

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