Tarvisio–Ljubljana Railway

Tarvisio–Ljubljana Railway

The Lesce-Bled train station
Overview
Native name Železniška proga Ljubljana-Jesenice
Status partly opened to traffic
Locale Slovenia, formerly Italy
Operation
Opened 14 December 1870 (1870-12-14)
Operator(s) Slovenian Railways
Technical
Line length 64.5 km (originally 103.7 km)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification 3 kV DC
Operating speed 100 km/h (62 mph)
Route number 20
Route map
Legend
Tarvisio-Ljubljana Railway
Legend
 from Villach
 669.4 Tarvisio Centrale
 Pontebbana to Udine (old)
 Pontebbana from Udine (new)
 Tarvisio Boscoverde
 New Pontebbana to Villach
 662.5 Fusine in Valromana
 660.6 Fusine Laghi
 Italy / Slovenia
 658.2 Ratece
 652.6 Kranjska Gora
 648.2 Gozd
 640.0 Dovje-Mojstrana
 633.3 Hrušica
 from Villach/Klagenfurt
 630.2 Jesenice
 to Trieste
 627.4 Slovenski Javornik
 622.3 Žirovnica
 617.3 Lesce Bled
 610.6 Globoko
 608.2 Otoče
 605.3 Podnart
 from Naklo
 594.5 Kranj
 585.7 Škofja Loka
 582.1 Reteče
 578.2 Medvode
 575.3 Medno
 572.1 Ljubljana Vižmarje
 from Kamnik
 570.1 Ljubljana Stegne
 568.8 Litostroj
 567.3 Ljubljana Šiška
 Line from Trieste (former Austrian Südbahn)
 565.7 Ljubljana
 Line to Dobova and to Maribor (former Austrian Südbahn)

The Tarvisio–Ljubljana Railway (Slovene: Železniška proga Ljubljana - Jesenice) is a partially closed to traffic international railway line between Italy and Slovenia. It was opened in 1870 as part of the Austro-Hungarian Rudolfsbahn railway network. Today, only the Slovenian section between Jesenice and Ljubljana is still open to traffic, as part of the main line between Ljubljana and Villach in Austria; the cross-border section between Jesenice and Tarvisio has been closed to traffic since 1967 (Italian part) and 1969 (Slovenian part).

History

Construction and first years

In 1869, the Kaiserlich-königliche privilegierte Kronprinz Rudolf-Bahn Gesellschaft (KRB, Imperial and Royal privileged company of the Crown Prince Rudolf railway), that had been formed for the construction and operation of the Rudolfsbahn railway line from St. Valentin to Tarvisio, received the concession to build a railway line linking Tarvisio and Ljubljana. The projected railway would follow the Sava valley from Ljubljana to Assling (now Jesenice) and Kronau (Kranjska Gora), then reach Tarvisio through Fusine in Valromana.[1]

The railway line was opened on 14 December 1870.[2]

In the first years of service, the end station in Tarvisio was located in an area south-west of the current Tarvisio Boscoverde station. A new station, the current Tarvisio Centrale, was opened when the railway line from Villach was inaugurated in 1873, and the Ljubljana line was connected to it, leading to disaffection of the first station, who was then known as Alt Tarvis (Old Tarvisio).[2]

In 1884, following financial crisis of the KRB, the railway was nationalised. It was therefore operated by the Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways, who proceeded to modernise the line.[1]

In 1906, the station of Jesenice became a junction when two segments of the New Alpine Railways met there: the Bohinj Railway to Trieste and the Karawanks Railway to Villach. As the latter opened two months later, during a brief period, the trans-alpine trains from Villach to Trieste used the Tarvisio–Ljubljana line between Tarvisio and Jesenice.

Between the two World Wars

Following the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the railway was divided between Italy and the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia from 1929). The lined crossed the border near the station of Fusine Laghi. The end station of Tarvis, rebaptised Tarvisio Sobborghi, then Tarvisio Centrale by its new owner, the Italian State Railways (FS), became an international border station. Both passenger and goods traffic between Tarvisio and the border was operated by the National Railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, that would become the Yugoslav Railways (JDŽ), but the infrastructure were owned and managed by the FS. Beyond the border, the JDŽ had both ownership and operation of the line.[2]

After World War II

After World War II, and following the consequent closing of the Yugoslavian border, traffic strongly decreased on the Italian segment of the line, and stopped completely in 1965. A presidential decree officially closed the line on 14 August 1967.[3] The tracks were removed in the 1980s. The Yugoslav segment between Jesenice and the border was officially closed in 1969. In recent years, part of the path in the Slovenian Upper Sava Valley has been reclaimed as a bicycle trail.

Characteristics and operation

The line was originally 103.7 km, from the railway station of Travisio Centrale to that of Ljubljana. The remaining part from Jesenice to Ljubljana is 64.5 km long. It is a single-track line, electrified with 3kV DC. Only the short section between the Ljubljana Šiška marshalling yards and the Ljubljana railway station is double-track.

It is exploited by Slovenian Railways, the national railway operator of Slovenia. National passenger trains use the line between Ljubljana and Jesenice,[4] while international services carry on to Villach and Vienna Meidling railway station.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Elmar Oberegger (2006). "Kronprinz Rudolf-Bahn". Eisenbahnngeschichte Alpen-Donau-Adria (in German). Elmar Oberegger. Archived from the original on 29 August 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Ufficio Centrale di Statistica delle Ferrovie dello Stato (1927). "Prospetto cronologico dei tratti di ferrovia aperti all'esercizio dal 1839 al 31 dicembre 1926". Trenidicarta.it (in Italian). Alessandro Tuzza. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  3. ↑ Rovelli Roberto (2008). "Ex - ferrovia Tarvisio-Fusine Laghi". Ferrovie Abbandonate. Associazione Italiana Greenways. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  4. ↑ http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/uploads/vozni-red-po-relacijah-2014/03_ljubljana_jesenice.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/passengers/abroad/destinations/austria

Sources

Coordinates: 46°28′45″N 13°52′14″E / 46.4791°N 13.8706°E / 46.4791; 13.8706

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