Slovenian Railways: prices, discounts, tickets

Planning your Slovenia itinerary

Slovenian railroads are operated by a single operator Slovenske železnice. You can plan your route around Slovenia on the official website: it shows the time, route and tickets.

Even on the English version of the website, the station names in the route search form must be entered in Slovene. This can be a non-trivial task in cases with letters like ž, š, so check in advance what the desired station is called and copy its name into the search form.

Planning an international itinerary from/to Slovenia

Slovenske železnice’s itinerary planner does not show international routes to Croatia, Italy, Austria, etc. Flight schedule and prices can be viewed here.

For international travel, you can use the DB scheduler.

Basic rules of Slovenske železnice

1. The fine for a stowaway is 40 €. There is a conductor, aka controller, on every train. Hares don’t stand a chance.
2. You can buy a ticket at the station ticket office or on board. If the ticket office was open and you decide to buy a ticket in the car, you will be charged an additional 2.5 €. If the ticket office was closed or there is no ticket office at the station, you simply buy the ticket from the conductor at no extra cost — the penalty for fare evasion does not apply if you immediately tell the conductor that you did not buy the ticket at the station (e.g. you were late for the train). If you try to show him an invalid ticket — see the previous point.
3. The ticket can be purchased in advance up to a maximum of 2 months before travel. Tickets for regional trains without seats can be used any day and any time after purchase. If you board a higher class train, such as Intercity, with such a ticket, you will be asked to pay a few euros extra on board.
4. Tickets are exchangeable and refundable before the travel time. If you used only part of the trip, you can also get compensation for the unused rest of the trip. To do this, you need to get a special sheet from the conductor or at the station where your route was terminated and fill it out. Details of the refund procedure should be clarified at the point where you decided to stop your trip: at the train conductor or at the ticket office.
5. Children under 6 years old who do not occupy a seat travel free of charge, but a ticket must still be issued. For children between 6 and 12 years old, as well as for toddlers occupying a separate seat, the ticket costs 50% of the basic fare. More information about traveling with children.
6. Pets up to 30 cm tall and/or in closed cages can travel with you free of charge, except on ICS trains. Otherwise, a dog ticket will cost 50% of the Standard Class fare. There are many exceptions on international flights, so before traveling with pets, be sure to research all information about traveling with pets on the Slovenian Railways website.
7. Bicycles are allowed on board for an additional fee of 3,40 €, regardless of the length of the trip. More information about the transportation of bicycles.

Types of trains in Slovenia

InterCity Slovenia (ICS)

The fastest trains in Slovenia. The ICS runs regularly between Ljubljana and Maribor throughout the year. In summer, on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the ICS runs between Maribor and Koper via Ljubljana. They are air-conditioned and offer food and drinks en route (free of charge for first class passengers). There are electrical outlets in first class. Seat reservations are mandatory and included in the fare.

InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC), International Trains (MV)

Three types of trains that serve intercity and international traffic. Fewer stops en route and run slightly faster than regional trains. Some flights have meals on board.

EuroNight (EN)

Overnight international long-distance trains with compartment cars.

Regional (RG) and other passenger trains (LV)

Slow domestic trains, like electric trains. These are the ones that Slovenia has the most of. They stop at all (or almost all) stations and go nowhere in a hurry. But they run on schedule, strictly to the minute. No reservations are required on these trains.

Storage cells at railway stations in Slovenia

Now there is a storage room only in Ljubljana, but the price is charged not by the number of bags / suitcases, but per box, and very humane, compared to neighboring countries:

1. Small box — 3 €
2. Middle box — 4 €
3. Big box — 5 €
4. Very large box — 6 €

The luggage room is open 24 hours a day. From 5:00 to 24:00 access is free, at night — by call.

Keep the receipt with the QR code: you can use this code to open your box. If you lose the receipt, the fine is 20 €.

In 2019 they planned to install luggage lockers in Celje, Maribor and Koper, but at the beginning of 2020 they were still missing. Check before you travel: up-to-date information on luggage lockers in Slovenia

How to save money on moving around Slovenia

1. When traveling by train, always compare the price with the bus fare — it is often cheaper and faster than the train, and the route network covers more points on the map of Slovenia.
2. Travel on weekends with the IZLETka fare: an unlimited weekend ticket.

You will see the fixed-price fare «IZLETka» on any route that falls on weekends and holidays. This is the cheapest way to travel around the country by train available to tourists.

How IZLETka works:

• Can be used on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
• Allows unlimited travel in standard class on all types of trains operating on the Slovenian Railways network.
• Valid for up to 5 days and can only be applied on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The ticket is not valid on weekdays. This means that if there are 1—2 working days between a holiday and a weekend, you can use the Izletka on any of these days except on a working day.
• An IZLETka flat rate ticket costs 15,00 € for adults and 7,5 € for children from 6 to 12 years old.

Detailed information about IZLETka tariff

Retro Heritage train

In Slovenia, a real steam locomotive built in 1920, made in Austria, is still running on the tracks. It has regular routes, there are holiday routes, or you can hire it for your group. Or for you personally. The train has several cars of different classes, including an imperial one.

Up-to-date information about routes and prices for Heritage Train on Slovenske železnice website