Slovenian Railways are boosting links with Austria in cooperation with the Austrian national railways operator ÖBB. Six new pairs of direct trains linking Ljubljana to Graz and Villach have been introduced. In the medium-term, the cooperation will be enhanced further.

The dozen new services featuring modern Flirt trains raise the number of rail links between Slovenia and Austria to 38, according to Darja Kocjan, the head of the Slovenian Railways' passenger transport division.

One train will take passengers from Ljubljana directly to Graz in about three hours and two more direct services will be available to Graz from Maribor (with a link to Ljubljana) and from Pragersko (also with a connection to Ljubljana). Three new pairs of trains will take passengers from Ljubljana to Villach in about an hour and a half.

Kocjan praised the cooperation with ÖBB. Last year 22% more passengers were carried between Slovenia and Austria than in 2022 and 66% more than in 2019 in what Kocjan said was the result of joint efforts.

As the Slovenian railway infrastructure and fleet continues to be modernised, 20 new diesel Flirt trains by Swiss manufacturer Stadler are expected next year, and another four locomotives and 20 new carriages are expected in the early 2026.

Kurt Bauer from ÖBB said they have been successfully cooperating with the Slovenian rail operator for years and have carried out many projects together. But the one launched on 21 March is the biggest. It will connect the south of Austria and Slovenia into a common mobility area.

Plans for the medium-term include train services to Graz every hour and to Villach every two hours, so they could be incorporated into Austria's train schedules, which the new trains along with upgrades of the infrastructure would enable, he said.

Bauer congratulated Slovenia on its investment in infrastructure and sustainable mobility, saying the country could serve as a role model in this respect.