New direct train link connects Croatia to Italy

The first international seasonal train, as part of a new direct passenger rail line connecting the Italian city of Trieste (Villa Opicina) and the Croatian city of Rijeka via Slovenia, was welcomed at the Rijeka railway station on Wednesday.

Trains on the route Villa Opicina – Rijeka – Villa Opicina will operate from today until the end of September, departing from Trieste, or Villa Opicina, at 7:50 a.m., with the return from Rijeka scheduled for 6:25 p.m.

The train will stop and accept passengers at the stations of Opatija Matulji and Šapjane in Croatia, as well as in Ilirska Bistrica, Pivka, Divača, and Sežana in Slovenia.

This is a multi-system electric motor train owned by Slovenian Railways, with a capacity of 235 seats, which includes space for bicycles and strollers and ensures access for people with disabilities and reduced mobility, HRT reported.

The ticket price for travel from Villa Opicina to Rijeka is eight euros, and round-trip tickets are 16 euros. 

For children aged 6 to 12, the price is four euros, and transportation for children under six is ​​free. The transportation fee for bicycles is five euros, and free Wi-Fi is available on the train.

Croatian Railways emphasise that the new line will better connect rural, peripheral, and cross-border areas of Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia, meaning it is one of six pilot activities implemented as part of the SUSTANCE project under the Central Europe Interreg Transnational Cooperation Program.

The project partners are the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative, Slovenian Railways Passenger Transport, and Croatian Railways Passenger Transport.

Trieste

As part of this project, Croatian Railways Passenger Transport is enhancing its website with information promoting environmentally friendly travel, active holidays, and the unique experience of combining train and bicycle travel in Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. 

The website will provide information on bicycle transportation, cycling routes, bike-friendly accommodation, and events in Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.

The SUSTANCE project involves eight partners from Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and Hungary. The main goal is to improve public transport connectivity between sparsely populated rural, peripheral, and cross-border regions and urban areas with major transport hubs, with a focus on improving public railway services in cross-border areas.

Rijeka

The emphasis is also on developing innovative ICT solutions to improve sustainable passenger mobility in Central Europe, using a bottom-up approach.

The total project value is two million euros, 80 percent of which is financed through the Central Europe Interreg Transnational Cooperation Program, and it will run until the end of March 2026.

Planned pilot activities include testing a direct rail link between Villa Opicina and Rijeka, experimentally extending direct passenger rail service to Sopron on weekends from April to August for visits to Lake Neusiedl, conducting a feasibility study for improving cross-border passenger rail connections between Divača and Pula, including plans for installing bike-sharing stations at the railway stations of Vodnjan and Savičenta, and developing an ICT application for demand-responsive transport services in peripheral areas of the Emilia-Romagna region.