Only one month after launching more trains on the cross-border route from Ljubljana to Graz, the Slovenian Railways (Slovenske železnice, SŽ) are at it again! This time launching a brand new rail route connecting Italy and Croatia for the first time (in recent history anyway).
Until now, anyone who wanted to travel between the Adriatic cities of Trieste and Rijeka by public transport would most likely opt for a coach as the current once-a-day only connection has its limitations. This long-standing departure involves two trains – firstly joining the afternoon EuroCity Emona from Trieste Centrale (or nearby Villa Opicina) to Pivka and then taking the fast train from Pivka to Rijeka, which originates in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana. The drawback is the afternoon departure and the connection of two hours and twenty five minutes in the small town of Pivka. The same story applies to the northbound option.
Thanks to SUSTANCE funding, as part of the Interreg Central Europe Programme, and collaboration between railway operators, a new direct train has been made available in addition to this previous connection. The brand new once-a-day direct international train from Villa Opicina and Rijeka in each direction now runs from 24th April until 30th September 2024 at least.
The southbound train, operated using a brand spanking new Slovenske železnice Stadler FLIRT, leaves Villa Opicina in the morning at 07:50, arriving at Rijeka for 09:54 (Train MV 1801), with the northbound service departing in the evening at 18:25, arriving at 20:40 (Train MV 1812). This opens up an option for those staying in Trieste, or for those who reside in several places in Slovenia, to make a day trip to the Croatian city known for its attractions and shopping and travelling with a journey time competitive to the coach.
I was lucky enough to be invited by the Slovenske železnice to the inaugural launch of this train on 24th April 2024.
UPDATE: In 2025, this train is unfortunately not running at all cited due to infrastructure work. It is hoped that more cross-border trains such as this one will operate in the future.
Here is the all important map of the new direct train route with its stops in between:
Departure from Villa Opicina
Villa Opicina is located 6.2km away from Trieste which means anyone travelling to or from Trieste will need to hop on a bus for the thirty minute journey to and from the station. Unfortunately, the unique Trieste-Opicina Tramway ceased to operate in 2016, leaving the only option of the bus or travelling by car/taxi where there is some parking available at Villa Opicina railway station.
In the future, the desire is to operate the service to/from Trieste Centrale. However, for now, as the Slovenske železnice Stadler FLIRT units are not certified for travel on the Italian rail network, this won’t happen anytime soon.
Facilities are fairly limited at Villa Opicina with a waiting room, toilets and a coffee machine that was having a day off and decided to give our money back a couple of seconds later.
Onboard the Slovenske železnice Stadler FLIRT
The Slovenske železnice is in the midst of a new trains revolution thanks to a large order of new trains from train builder, Stadler. The new Villa Opicina to Rijeka service is operated by the FLIRT variant of these trains. The livery, resembling the company colours and the elongated Slovenske železnice logo, is modern and striking.
The train offers two classes of accommodation, First and Second Class, plenty of space for bikes and WiFi, free of charge.
As indicated on the side of the train, the train is certified for operation in Slovenia (SLO), Croatia (HR) and Austria (A). Italy, for now, isn’t listed and operation from Villa Opicina to the border with Slovenia works on an agreement with the Italian rail operator.
Second Class Accommodation
There are 201 Second Class seats on the Slovenske železnice Stadler FLIRT. These comfortable seats are arranged in a 2+2 configuration across the four carriages. Most seats are in an airline-style configuration and some are situated around bays of four.
The seats are missing tables, which is the only drawback I could find on the otherwise fantastic interior on these trains. The ambience of these trains is perfect with soft glow lighting and a just-right temperature onboard. Legroom is also more than enough.
First Class Accommodation
There are twelve seats available at one end of the train in the First Class compartment – separated to the rest of the train with an automatic door. These are arranged in a 2+2 configuration in the same way as Second Class.
Contrary to Second Class, all seats come with a table of some sort – large fold out tables at tables of four with the airline-style coming with a regular seat-back folding table. As with Second Class, legroom is fantastic. This is the ideal space for working in a hopefully quieter environment.
Border Crossings
Despite the train crossing two borders on the course of its journey from Italy to Slovenia and Slovenia to Croatia, there were no formal passport or ID checks on the train from Villa Opicina to Rijeka. This is due to Italy, Slovenia and Croatia all being part of the Schengen free-travel area. As Croatia was only admitted recently, there can be ad-hoc border checks between Slovenia and Croatia so do remember to bring all of your documentation with you!
Scenery
The scenery onboard the train from Villa Opicina to Rijeka is delightful with the lush green landscapes followed by a view of the Adriatic Sea for the last leg into Rijeka.
Inaugural Launch Festivities
The Slovenske železnice put on a great show for their inaugural event, including speeches and a breakfast buffet on the platform prior to departure.
After the train made its second call at Divača, a party atmosphere filled the train as local volunteer groups, tourist boards and singers jumped on. Various Slovenian cakes were being handed out including potica, kremna rezina, prekmurska gibanica and crostoli by ladies in traditional dress as well as some obligatory (not really, but I couldn’t say no) plum brandy, or slivovitz, served just after at approximately 9 am!
Below is a video of some of the key moments of the inaugural event:
Arrival into Rijeka
After just over two hours onboard, the train arrived into a rainy Rijeka – the city known for its 13th century castle and Baroque buildings. The city centre is a fifteen minute walk from the railway station. Left luggage lockers are available in the station building.
Booking and Fares
Tickets for the new Villa Opicina to Rijeka service come at a bargain flat rate. Travelling internationally, tickets are only currently available at station booking offices or onboard trains if this facility isn’t available.
An online facility to make international bookings is planned to be introduced in the future as the Croatian Railways (HŽPP) develop an online platform as part of the same SUSTANCE programme.
| Journey Leg | Second Class | First Class |
| Villa Opicina to/from Rijeka | €8,00 each way | Second Class fare + supplement Villa Opicina/Sežana to Šapjane +€2,70 Šapjane to Rijeka +€1,80 |
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Conclusion
It’s always wonderful to see a new route being launched and it’s impressive that the Slovenske železnice have launched two in the space of a few months! The currently summer-only train from Villa Opicina (Trieste) to Rijeka opens up new journey opportunities for locals and tourists alike. It is highly competitive with the coach in journey time and offers a much more pleasant ambience and better onboard facilities. I hope the service will tempt customers away from the road and onto the tracks.
I’m very grateful to Slovenske železnice for inviting me to their inaugural launch. I wish them (and their partners) all the success for the new service and desire to improve cross-border transport connections and upgrade their fleet to offer customers a better experience.
It was great to spend the day with representatives of Slovenske železnice as well as @superalbs and @tech963 from Twitter.
This Travel Report was first published in April 2024 and updated in January 2025.
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