About this journey

Ljubljana station, the principal railway hub of Slovenia, stands at the start of an international journey that has connected two capitals for generations. The station building was completed on 18 April 1848, making it one of the oldest railway structures in the region, predating by a year the Austrian Southern Railway line that would link Vienna and Trieste through the city. Today it serves as a crossing point for both domestic services and international trains, including EuroCity connections toward Vienna and Trieste.

From Ljubljana the route follows the line toward Dobova, where it crosses the border from Slovenia into Croatia, entering at Savski Marof before continuing to the Croatian capital. The border here reflects a relatively recent political geography: Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and completed its War of Independence in 1995, and since 1 July 2013 it has been a member of the European Union, meaning this crossing is now a journey between two EU member states. Zagreb Glavni kolodvor, the destination, serves the capital, largest city, and main cultural and economic centre of Croatia — a city that, like Ljubljana, spent much of the twentieth century within the same federal state, yet is now the heart of an independent nation reached by an international cab ride of just over two hours.