About this journey

Udine station stands at the southern foot of the Pontebbana, the line that links the Friulian plain to the Austrian border across the Julian Alps. Construction of the Italian section was entrusted to the Società per le Ferrovie dell'Alta Italia, and the first stretch — from Udine to Gemona del Friuli — opened on 15 November 1875, with the complete line following on 30 October 1879. After World War I, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919 pushed the Italian–Austrian border to the vicinity of Tarvisio, giving the route its international character.

North of Carnia, the Pontebbana that exists today bears little resemblance to the original. The old single-track alignment followed the Fella river and was vulnerable to landslides and floods; it was replaced by a rebuilt double-track corridor opened in stages from 1985 to 2000, most of it bored through the mountain in long tunnels. Between Pontebba and Ugovizza-Valbruna the tunnel traces an 'M' shape, surfacing briefly near Bagni Santa Caterina before plunging underground again. The line is electrified at 3,000 volts DC on standard gauge of 1,435 mm. The RailJet working this service — one of two ÖBB Eurocity Railjet pairs, trains 131–130 and 133–132, operating between Venice and Vienna — carries no passengers within Italian territory, making the run to Tarvisio Boscoverde, the border station that replaced Tarvisio Centrale in 2000, a working passage rather than a public service.