By: G. B.
Local media in the Goriška region are excitedly reporting that Nova Gorica will receive a special honour on Slovenia’s Cultural Day (February 8th): a cross-border train connection. From Nova Gorica to Venice (Mestre) and back.
On that day, Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and her Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella will take this train to Nova Gorica to mark the opening of the European Capital of Culture.
Slovenian Railways has revealed that discussions with Italian Railways about establishing passenger train connections on the Venice Mestre – Gorizia Centre – Nova Gorica route began some time ago, in light of the European Capital of Culture (EPK) initiative. While initially scheduled for January 1st, the connection was postponed by the Italians to February 8th. Starting from this date, two trains will operate on weekends between Venice Mestre and Nova Gorica, with exceptions for Italian national holidays.
Exact travel times for the new train service from Venice to Nova Gorica are unavailable. However, the segment from Nova Gorica to Gorizia Central Station on the Italian side is reported to take 20 minutes. From Gorizia to Venice Mestre, the fastest train option takes approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes. The total distance between Mestre and Gorizia is about 118 kilometres.
In contrast, the fastest train connection between Nova Gorica and Ljubljana, according to the timetable, takes 2 hours and 50 minutes. However, most journeys take significantly longer, often up to four hours, requiring at least one transfer (sometimes two) via either Jesenice or Sežana.
By road, the distance between Nova Gorica and Ljubljana is approximately 110 kilometres. Under normal traffic conditions, this journey takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, making the train option highly uncompetitive. Notably, these comparisons are based on scheduled times, and real travel times may be even worse.
Of course, the responsibility for this cannot be placed solely on Slovenian Railways. The issue lies with the railway infrastructure, which has seen almost no changes since Slovenia’s independence, unlike the road network, where hundreds of kilometres of new highways have been built. Existing railway lines in Slovenia do not support high-speed travel. Slovenia does not have railway lines comparable to highways. Even double-track mainlines, due to the terrain configuration – where safety is prioritised, requiring lower speeds – cannot accommodate high-speed travel. In over 30 years since independence, significantly more investment has gone into roads, while little has been done to implement railway projects in a way that is cost-effective for taxpayers. Perhaps the time will come when we will renew railway lines and roads with community contributions, just like in the good old socialist times.
The second track from Divača to Koper is, in fact, the first major railway project involving the construction of a completely new line since Slovenia gained independence. The Pragersko-Hodoš line, which remains single-track, has only been electrified, and the Ljubljana-Kočevje line has only recently been brought back into operation. The entire transportation policy has focused solely on modernising existing infrastructure – projects that are astronomically expensive for our conditions because we are accustomed to “parasites” stepping in during major construction projects, inflating costs and delaying timelines indefinitely.
In other words, it would not be surprising if the residents of Nova Gorica could get to Rome faster by train than to Ljubljana. What might the current Prime Minister, who is from the Goriška region, have to say about this? And what about representatives of the veterans’ associations, who often have much to say about the renewed Italian influence in the Primorska region?