SŽ

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The Slovenske železnice (SŽ) is the state railway company of Slovenia and operates the majority of passenger services on the Slovenian rail network.

Summary

  • FIP reduced tickets and FIP Coupons are accepted.
  • Reservations and/or supplements are mandatory for many train categories with a FIP 50 Ticket.
  • No online sale of FIP Tickets.

Validity of FIP Tickets

Validity FIP Coupon

First select the issuer of your FIP Card. If you are eligible, you can request the FIP Coupons through your employer. Please note that we are unable to assist with the issuance of FIP Coupons. You can find an overview of all FIP Coupons in the FIP Application.

Please select a FIP Card issuer first.

Validity FIP Reduced Ticket

Railway companies typically offer a discount with FIP, also known as FIP50 or FIP75. The discount is usually 50 %, sometimes 75 %. To find out what discount applies to you, first select the issuer of your FIP Card. You can find an overview of all discounts in the FIP Application.

Please select a FIP Card issuer first.

FIP Coupons and FIP 50 Tickets are valid on SŽ services. For cross-border journeys, either a through FIP 50 Ticket or FIP Coupons for both countries are required.

Train Categories and Reservations

Important Information

Train categories on SŽ are displayed in the timetable as described below. In other journey planners, the designations may differ significantly. Regional trains are often shown simply as R. In case of doubt, compare the train number with the SŽ timetable.

Cross-border connections are sometimes only shown up to the border in the SŽ online timetable.

InterCity Slovenia (ICS)
FIP accepted Reservation required

National long-distance trains are operated with the SŽ 310 “Pendolino” train type. These trains feature tilting technology, shorter travel times and few intermediate stops. On weekdays, a small bistro also serves snacks and drinks. The route is mainly operated between the country’s two largest cities, Ljubljana and Maribor.

Reservation

A reservation and a category supplement are mandatory on ICS trains. The supplement currently costs €3 and must be paid for both FIP reduced tickets and FIP Coupons.1

InterCity (IC)
FIP accepted Reservation possible

Long-distance trains with few intermediate stops connect larger cities. They usually run only within Slovenia; the international trains to Budapest via Austria are also labelled IC on some sections.

Reservation

No reservation is mandatory, but a surcharge of €1.50 applies to FIP reduced tickets. When using FIP Coupons, this surcharge does not have to be paid.1

EuroCity (EC)
FIP accepted Reservation possible

Relatively fast international trains that connect Slovenia with Austria or Croatia.

Reservation

No reservation is mandatory, but a surcharge of €1.50 applies to FIP reduced tickets. When using FIP Coupons, this surcharge does not have to be paid.1

Mednarodni vlaki (MV)
FIP accepted Reservation possible

International trains that operate between Slovenia and Austria, Hungary or Croatia. They run with few intermediate stops.

Reservation

No reservation is mandatory, but a surcharge of €1.50 applies to FIP reduced tickets when travel is only within Slovenia.2 When using FIP Coupons, this surcharge does not have to be paid.

EuroNight (EN)
FIP accepted Reservation required

International night trains to Croatia, Austria and Germany. The trains offer sleeper and couchette cars as well as seating cars, and are operated abroad in cooperation with other railways.

Reservation

Reservations / supplements for sleepers and couchettes can be booked on EuroNight trains. A FIP Coupon is required for the countries / railway companies travelled through. If no FIP Coupon is used, a ticket at the FIP Global Fare for the entire journey can be purchased.

Cost: depends on route, occupancy and carriage category.

For journeys entirely within Slovenia, a surcharge of €1.50 applies to FIP reduced tickets.2 When using FIP Coupons, this surcharge does not have to be paid.

Lokalni potniški vlaki (LP or LPV)
FIP accepted No reservation possible

National regional trains that usually also call at smaller stations.

Regionalni (RG)
FIP accepted No reservation possible

National regional trains, similar to LP/LPV.

Maloobmejnia (MO)
FIP accepted No reservation possible

Regional trains that operate cross-border.

Avtovlak (AVT)
FIP not accepted No reservation possible

Auto trains that run through Slovenia’s longest rail tunnel (Bohinj Tunnel). FIP is not valid here.

Buses
FIP not accepted No reservation possible

SŽ buses. FIP is not valid, except when they are used as rail replacement services.

Ticket and Reservation Purchase

Online

DB Website
Only seat reservations for individual trains (except ICS)
Reservation FIP 50 Tickets
Reservation Costs:
1st Class: € 6.90 2nd Class: € 5.50
Reservations

The reservation price is calculated per journey. This means that for connections with transfers, you only need to pay once for multiple trains.

Seat reservations can be purchased via the Deutsche Bahn website. To do so, select the “Book seat only” option in the search.

Book DB reservation
Important Information

If an error occurs while booking trains requiring reservations, it may be that reservations are not yet available for that connection. Please observe the relevant advance booking deadlines and, in this case, try again later, check the connection on the operator’s website, or use other booking methods.

To Booking WebsiteAdditional Information

On-Site

SŽ Ticket Office
Reservation FIP 50 Tickets
Reservation Costs:
1st Class: 1.50 € 2nd Class: 1.50 €

SŽ ticket offices are now only found at larger stations.

FIP 50 Tickets

At SŽ ticket offices, FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased for travel within Slovenia. At international ticket offices, they can also be purchased for trips to neighbouring countries.

A list of international ticket offices is available on the SŽ website.

Reservations and Supplements

Seat reservations can be purchased on site for €1.50. If using an FIP Coupon, it must be presented.

Supplements for trains of categories ICS, IC, MV, EC and EN can also be purchased here. Current prices are available on the SŽ website.

Different prices apply for couchettes and sleepers; ask on site.

Additional Information

On the Train

Domestic FIP Tickets can also be purchased on board, including when entering Slovenia with a ticket that is only valid to the Slovenian border.1 Passengers boarding at stations with a ticket office who cannot prove that they were unable to purchase a ticket there must pay an additional surcharge fee.2

Supplements for train categories ICS, IC, MV, EC and EN can still be purchased on board at a fixed price, even when a ticket office is available at the station.2 Reservations should be booked before departure.

Only cash in euros can be used on board.

Discounts

Children up to and including 5 years of age travel free of charge. From age 6, the regular FIP adult fare applies.1

Special Tariff Conditions

Journey Interruptions

A journey interruption is possible at any time within the validity period of the ticket.1

Rail Replacement Service

FIP concessions apply on buses used as rail replacement services when they replace a train on which FIP would have been valid.

Recommendations

Personal Tip

SŽ operates a relatively reliable train service throughout the country. However, due to extensive modernisation works and single-track sections, delays do occur. The largest cities and most well-known tourist attractions are reachable by rail.

There is no true clock-face timetable. Good planning is therefore important. While connections to Austria have been significantly improved in recent years, there are still very few trains to Italy and Hungary. To Croatia, a solid basic service exists. Apart from the required supplements and reservations, using FIP is quite simple. Staff are usually friendly and often speak English.

Sources

  1. Rail Delivery Group ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. SŽ supplement information ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎