Slovenian Railways will upgrade parts of their railway network, and line closures will last for an extended period, probably causing disturbances in rail freight operations but also on timetables across the country.

Construction works have already started. The Ljubljana-Brezovica line’s left track was closed between 30 January and 6 February, while from 6 February onwards, the right track of the line will be closed until 30 June.

Nevertheless, the whole line between Ljubljana and Divaca next to the border with Italy and close the ports of Trieste and Koper will remain closed for a way longer time since the works in the Brezovice-Borovnica-Preserje section will last until 2027.

Single track traffic

The rail lines mentioned above will not be entirely closed, but they will operate on a single track. This means that their capacity will be substantially reduced, causing disturbances in train trips. “Major obstacles to implementing the operational timetable are envisaged in Ljubljana and on the Ljubljana-Divaca section. Given the share of freight train traffic on the Ljubljana-Divaca route, deviations from the timetable will also impact operations in the entire network,” commented Slovenian Railways.

Indeed the share of freight traffic in these lines is larger than passenger trains. It makes sense since the route is the gateway to the Adriatic ports of Koper and Trieste. Rail freight companies like METRANS have already informed their customers of the upcoming traffic problems, but it seems that Slovenian Railways will prioritise freight trains hopefully with the minimum impact possible.

Also read:

• Slovenia takes steps to support rail freight sector

• Major delays for rail freight at the port of Koper

• Construction of second rail link at port of Koper in full steam