Note: this trip was inspired by Jon Worth’s Cross Border Rail project. Make sure to follow him on Bluesky and Mastodon!

History

On the first of October 1862, Südbahn-Gesellschaft (South Railway Company) opened the Zidani Most – Zagreb – Sisak railway. This was one of the first railways in what are now Slovenia and Croatia, and this route is still the main rail link between the capitals of the two countries – Ljubljana and Zagreb, with the Slovenian and Croatian sections meeting at Dobova. It carried the Orient Express service from 1919 to 1977 and it remains an extremely important railroad to this day. The route was electrified by 1969, but with different voltage standards – the Slovenian section was electrified with 3kV (the same was used on the Zagreb – Rijeka railway at the time), while the Croatian section was electrified with 25kV (used in the rest of Yugoslavia). Because of this, even though passenger train service was operated by a single operator – JŽ (Yugoslav Railways), electrical service across the border necessitated engine swaps between the 25kV Croatian and the 3kV Slovenian side.

Cross Border Rail

In addition to the electric locomotive swap (performed at Dobova station which has both 3kV and 25kV power), a border check was added in 1991 following Slovenia and Croatia’s independence from Yugoslavia. This added additional complications and delays to cross border traffic and even though Slovenian (SŽ) and Croatian Railways (HŽPP) started to run relatively frequent commuter EMU train service on their respective sides, only inter city trains would cross the border. After 30 years of very limited cross-border service, border controls were abolished on January 1st 2023 when Croatia finally joined the Schengen Area. The lack of border control opens up additional opportunities for smoother and faster cross border service. Many inter city trains that operate on this line use multi-system ÖBB locomotives that can run on both 3kV and 25kV power. They often pull trains through Austria and Slovenia until they reach Dobova, where a HŽPP locomotive takes over. Without border control, using such locomotives to Zagreb (and beyond!) could shorten cross-border travel by at least 20 minutes. As of 2025, this hasn’t happened yet.

However, another service improvement option opened up following the abolition of border checks. Thanks to 3kV and 25kV power at Dobova, Croatian and Slovenian EMU trains could meet at this station and allow passengers to transfer between SŽ and HŽPP commuter trains. While this wouldn’t be fast travel, it would significantly improve travel options between smaller towns on either side of the border. Additionally, it would provide additional options for intercity travel between Zagreb and Ljubljana. In early 2025 there are only two pairs of direct trains daily, down from regular 3 due to work at the Tauern Tunnel in Austria. For example, passengers could take a train on Zagreb’s suburban line (normally terminating at the spur line station Harmica or at Savski Marof), which run at 30 minute intervals for most of the day. With the line terminating at Dobova instead of Harmica, they could then easily transfer to a SŽ train to Krško, Maribor or Ljubljana! This is pretty common in many places, with passengers connecting between different railway operators. HŽPP already performs a similar connection with the Hungarian operator MÁV at Beli Manastir station, where MÁV runs their trains to the Croatian border station, allowing transfer between the two operators.

Plans

As of 2025 there is unfortunately no such option at Dobova. There are currently 5 pairs of passenger trains crossing the border daily. The only alternative option for transferring between HŽPP and SŽ networks is to take their respective commuter trains to Dobova or Harmica and then walk/bike/drive the 2.8km between them. However, in late 2024 things slowly started moving forward. HŽPP and SŽ leadership met in Zagreb, and announced that they are looking into improving connectivity between Ljubljana and Zagreb. While this announcement did not include details about these improvements, SŽ announced only a few days later that they will be providing connections to HŽPP commuter trains in Dobova through the month of December. On the weekends, one pair of SŽ and HŽPP trains would meet in Dobova to provide connections for tourists traveling to Zagreb holiday markets. This news wasn’t widely reported — the special service was targeted at Slovenian passengers and HŽPP did not advertise it at all. But this relatively low key holiday train service provided a perfect opportunity to test out how a regular SŽ – HŽPP connection at Dobova could work in practice. It also coincided perfectly with my already scheduled visit to Zagreb, my hometown. I had already planned a train trip that would take me through Dobova on my way to Zagreb from Rotterdam (you can read more about this overnight train trip on my Mastodon). Once I got to Zagreb, I would have an opportunity to try out this cross border service myself!

The experiment

My first challenge was to figure out how to test this connection. The timetable was built to accommodate tourists traveling from Ljubljana to Zagreb. They would leave Ljubljana around 11am, transfer to another SŽ train at Zidani Most and finally transfer to a HŽPP train at Dobova, arriving in Zagreb at 1:27pm. The return trip from Zagreb would start at 7:13pm, with a single transfer to a SŽ train in Dobova that would get them to Ljubljana by 10pm. Since I was staying in Zagreb, my options were limited. I could theoretically take an early IC train to Ljubljana, and then immediately get on a SŽ train back towards Zidani most. As much as I love spending time on trains, this seemed a bit stressful. Instead I planned a different kind of trip — I would take a regular HŽPP suburban service to Harmica and then bike over to Brežice, where I would get on a SŽ train to Dobova, before transferring to a HŽPP train. While this wouldn’t be a full scale trip, it would let me observe and experience that critical connection at Dobova.

I scheduled this trip for Sunday, 29th of December, the last day of this holiday service. I took my trusty Rog Senior, made in Ljubljana. This bike was originally purchased by my father in the 1980s and I wrote about it a few years ago in my post about a BikeMS ride between Zagreb and Sisak. I got on the 10:47am train to Harmica, giving me ample time to reach Brežice and get on a SŽ train to Dobova by 12:45pm. Zagreb suburban service is primarily served by Končar 6112 EMUs which have almost fully replaced the old, Hungarian made HŽ 6111 series. These trains are not particularly comfortable for longer journeys, but they are perfect for short local trips like this one. They’ve got ample standing room and good bike accommodation.

The ride to Harmica took about 30 minutes. The Harmica spur is interesting in itself. It’s the start of the Kumrovec railroad, a single track, non-electrified 38km long line that connects the Zidani most – Zagreb main line to the Slovenian railroad network at Imeno. It crosses over between Croatia and Slovenia at multiple locations, following the Sutla river. Because of this, service was discontinued in the year 2000. Thanks to the abolition of border control, there are currently efforts to restore service. The railroad was electrified to Harmica, the first stop on this branch railroad, serving as the western terminus of the Zagreb suburban line (the east side service terminates at Dugo Selo). After a comfortable ride, I got off at Harmica and looked around a bit. Harmica is a small sleepy town. The stop is very simple — there is no station building, just a simple shelter and a medium sized parking lot. If you follow the tracks past the station, you’ll soon reach the end of electrification and suddenly the tracks become overgrown with grass, having been out of service for 25 years.

Another interesting structure is the abandoned border crossing. Even though it’s only been a couple of years since border control was abolished (and due to Schengen suspensions people may still be “randomly” checked), the structure already looks like it belongs to another era. Even though it’s a minor detail compared to real horrors that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia, border control between Slovenia and Croatia used to be a constant reminder of missed opportunities in this part of the world. While the rest of Europe was rapidly integrating and tearing down borders in the 1990s (no Schengen suspensions back then!), in the Balkans we were putting them up. The history of border control between Slovenia and Croatia is quite interesting, and I wrote a short thread about it when Croatia joined the Schengen Zone. Even though crossing the Sutla river through the abandoned border crossing is a serene and calm experience on this sunny December morning, even the presence of this structure makes me uneasy. The existence of borders implies violence even when that violence isn’t directly present. Unfortunately, in 2025 the lack of border control feels like temporary respite.

I ride my bike towards Dobova and pass a small village called Rigonce. There’s a memorial to the Ten-Day War, the brief armed conflict that preceded Slovenia’s independence from Yugoslavia. The road isn’t very busy, and I get into town after less than 10 minutes of riding. I soon find excellent bike infrastructure, with bike paths clearly marked on the road and a fully separated path as soon as I get out of town. The paved bike path follows the road, but it has its own bridges over small streams, and it is pure pleasure to ride on it. There are picturesque fields to the south, as well as hills of the Žumberak/Gorjanci Mountains. I reach Brežice way ahead of my 12:45 train to Dobova, so I decide to ride some more. I consider continuing all the way to Krško, but I wisely decide against it. I would be cutting it close. Instead I ride around local hills and then head back to Brežice station.

Brežice station is small, but tidy. While I wait, a long freight train passes. Even though I already bought my ticket to Dobova online, I decide to use the ticket machine and I buy a paper ticket. It’s nice to have something physical to remember this short trip. At 12:45 sharp the SŽ train to Dobova arrives. It’s SŽ Series 312, a Siemens Desiro. It’s an older EMU, but it has decent dedicated space for bikes. I was hoping to get on one of SŽ’s new Series 510 Stadler FLIRTs. These EMUs are multi-system, so they could run all the way to Zagreb (SŽ ran them between Trieste and Rijeka last summer). Nevertheless, the Desiro is comfortable enough for the short 5 minute ride back to Dobova.

Before you know it, the train rolls into Dobova station. The ride is so short that nobody checks my ticket. As expected, the train is full of families going to Zagreb for the holiday markets. As we get off the train at Dobova, the PA announces that the train to Zagreb is on track 4. I follow the crowd to the underpass. Luckily, there is a simple ramp that I use to push my bike down the stairs. I’m not sure if anyone else taking this train knows how unusual it is to see a HŽPP EMU at this station. The kids are excited for the holiday market and the trains, but most people seem nonchalant about the whole affair. Meanwhile, I’m taking as many photos as I can. I think about how significant this could be – of all the opportunities that would open up if this special train became routine practice at this station. I think about employment and education opportunities, about environmental improvements and people leaving their cars at home (or maybe even selling them!). There is so much possibility hidden behind this simple train transfer.

We get on the HŽPP train and in a few minutes we head out towards Zagreb! The ride is so simple and uneventful that I need to remind myself that this is, in fact, unusual. As is often the case with borders, there is no clear indication when you cross one. I snap a bunch of photos to look back at and identify when this train crossed from the unusual into regular part of its service. I do get my ticket checked on this train. I purchased a regular HŽPP ticket from Harmica to Zagreb Glavni kolodvor online, since neither SŽ nor HŽPP sell tickets to locations on each other’s network. If you’re traveling internationally, you either have to go to a staffed ticket booth, or you can buy international train tickets at obb.at. It’s only somewhat curious that even in the 21st century the Austrian railway company gets to sell you tickets between Slovenia and Croatia, while their national operators can’t. The conductor is somewhat surprised that I have a HŽPP ticket, but she doesn’t give me any trouble. As we approach the first stops on the Croatian side, I’m trying to figure out how HŽPP arranged this trip in their timetable. Since their website doesn’t show destinations in Slovenia, there is no obvious way to find this train. Per the SŽ timetable, this is HŽPP train 8041 which normally starts at Savski Marof. While I’m still thinking about this, I decide to get off at Brdovec station. It’s still early, and it’s a beautiful day. I decide I want to ride my bike some more.

I get off and I finally figure it out! HŽPP didn’t really run 8041 from Dobova. Or they did, depending on how you look at it. Once our train got to Savski Marof, they hooked us up to another 6112 EMU, the real 8041. As far as passengers (and the online booking system!) are concerned, this is just a long train on this regular Zagreb suburban service. I chuckled at finally figuring this out and got back on my bike. There’s a new bike path that follows the main line from Brdovec to the Slovenian border. It’s paved and fully separated, but unfortunately it doesn’t directly connect to the excellent bike paths starting in Dobova. Instead, bike riders have to go around through Harmica and Rigonce to get across the small Sutla river. I ride across the border a few more times that day, before finally getting on the train back to Zagreb. This cross border rail experiment was a success!

Conclusion

Writing about this experience, I ask myself whether I’m exaggerating the potential of this cross border train service? Could this special holiday train actually be the beginning of something real? Despite decent new rolling stock, rail travel has been continuously deteriorating in Croatia for decades. Rail connectivity with former Yugoslav states to the east is non-existent. Sarajevo has been disconnected from Zagreb for almost a decade, and Zagreb – Belgrade train was cancelled in early pandemic times and it never returned. Traveling between the two cities now is reminiscent of my bike ride between Harmica and Dobova, but worse. The only way to make a rail connection between Belgrade and Zagreb is to walk 7km between Tovarnik and Šid. And could running HŽPP trains to Dobova work in these times of Schengen suspensions? This whole experiment is based on the freedom that comes from not having to check documents, but in 2025 police harass and racially profile passengers on trains all over the EU. There’s many obstacles, and I’m hesitant to hope too early. But I did actually ride a HŽPP commuter train from Dobova. It was simple, it was easy, it was comfortable and it made so much sense. I choose to believe that better times will come, and that one day we will have more trains and less borders.