About this journey

Metlika station sits close to the Croatian border, where the line designated Državna meja–Metlika–Ljubljana begins its northward run through the Dolenjska region of Slovenia. The railway connecting this corridor with Novo Mesto and Ljubljana opened in 1894, threading together the towns and villages of what was then Lower Carniola.

From Metlika the line runs north, passing through the settlements of Laze and Birčna Vas before reaching Novo Mesto — both communities lying directly along the Ljubljana–Metlika railway. Trebnje, further along the wider corridor toward Ljubljana, gained an additional branch toward Sevnica in 1938, part of which had already been built as far as the mining settlement of Krmelj by 1908; that branch was withdrawn from service in 1996. The A2 motorway, which has run past Trebnje since 2010, marks how road infrastructure has since overtaken the rail corridor in carrying long-distance traffic through the region.

Novo Mesto station brings the journey to a close after just over an hour on a line that has served this corner of Slovenia for well over a century. The ride moves from the quiet border country around Metlika through the river valleys and small settlements of Dolenjska, arriving at Novo Mesto as the most substantial town the line reaches between the Croatian frontier and Ljubljana.