Bohinj Railway

A cab ride over Slovenia's Bohinj Railway, from Jesenice past Lake Bled and through the Bohinj tunnel, then down the Soča valley to the Solkan bridge and Nova Gorica.

The route

The Bohinj Railway runs from Jesenice, in the Upper Sava valley of northwest Slovenia, across the Julian Alps to Nova Gorica on the Italian border, and in its full form on to Sežana and Trieste. Austria-Hungary built it between 1900 and 1906 as part of a new chain of Alpine railways meant to give Western Austria and Southern Germany a second, shorter route to the port of Trieste. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, attended the opening in 1906.

About 10,400 workers built the line. Between Jesenice and Sežana it runs about 130 km, with 36 tunnels totalling 18.7 km and 53 bridges and viaducts, on grades of up to 26 per mille. The 6,327 m Bohinj tunnel under Mount Kobla is the longest railway tunnel in Slovenia. Near Bača pri Modreju a 258 m bridge and viaduct cross the Idrijca, and at Solkan an 85 m stone arch spans the Soča, the largest stone arch on any railway bridge.

History has not been kind to the line. After the First World War the new border between Yugoslavia and Italy ran through the middle of the Bohinj tunnel. The Solkan bridge, destroyed in that war, was rebuilt in its original form, and in the Second World War the tunnel portal was blown up and later rebuilt. Since traffic to the coast moved to the route through Ljubljana and Pivka in the early 1990s, the line has carried mainly local trains, a car train through the tunnel, and visitors.

What you will see

The film was made from the cab of a regional train in March 2022, heading southwest. It leaves Jesenice and climbs away from the Sava valley, passing the stop at Vintgar, near the gorge of the same name, and Podhom before reaching Bled Jezero, the station above the western end of Lake Bled. The line then drops to Bohinjska Bela and follows the Sava Bohinjka upstream through Nomenj to Bohinjska Bistrica.

Just beyond Bohinjska Bistrica the train enters the Bohinj tunnel and spends several minutes under the mountain, coming out at Podbrdo at the head of the Bača valley. From here the line winds down the narrow valley past Hudajužna and Grahovo, with bridges and short tunnels in quick succession, to Podmelec and Most na Soči, where the Idrijca meets the Soča.

The last part follows the Soča southward past Avče, Kanal, Anhovo and Plave. About an hour and forty minutes into the film the train crosses the Solkan bridge high above the river, stops at Solkan and, a few minutes later, ends at Nova Gorica, the town that grew up beside Gorizia on the Slovenian side of the border.

Riding it for real

Slovenian Railways (Slovenske železnice) runs regional trains between Jesenice and Nova Gorica, stopping at the small stations along the way. Its car train carries vehicles through the Bohinj tunnel between Bohinjska Bistrica, Podbrdo and Most na Soči, with a passenger car for people travelling with it.

The Julian Alps: Soča Valley card includes free train tickets from Most na Soči towards Nova Gorica or Ljubljana. Check Slovenian Railways for current timetables and fares before you go.

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