To get into the Soča Valley with your car, the smartest — and most spectacular — shortcut is called the avtovlak: the car train (motorail) that links Bohinjska Bistrica to Most na Soči in about 45 minutes, underneath the Julian Alps, for €16.20 one way (car + driver, 2026 fare). I live next to Tolmin and have taken it dozens of times: it's the option I've been recommending for years, rather than the 50 hairpins of the Vršič pass.
The short answer
- The route: Bohinjska Bistrica → Most na Soči in 42 to 49 minutes depending on the train, including the crossing of the Bohinj tunnel (6,327 m). You stay seated in your car.
- 2026 fare: €16.20 one way for a car with its driver, €3.60 per extra passenger (SŽ fare in force since 1 July 2026).
- Frequency: 4 round trips per day from 4 April to 4 October 2026, 3 the rest of the year.
- Year-round: the car train also runs in winter, when the Vršič pass is impassable.
- No booking: tickets are bought on board, loading is first come, first served.
- Campervans accepted (up to 3 m high, 2.40 m wide and 10 t); motorbikes, however, are not allowed.
- Bikes travel too: 30 spaces in the car train's passenger carriage, and a €3 supplement on the regular trains of the Bohinj line.
Why go under the mountain instead of over it
Look at a map: between Lake Bohinj and the Soča Valley there is a wall. To cross it by car, two classic options: the Vršič pass to the north — 1,611 m, 50 hairpins, closed a good part of the year, and since 2026 a new traffic scheme with parking removed at the summit — or the long southern detour via Nova Gorica. Coming from Italy, the Predil pass remains a beautiful gateway. But from Bled or Bohinj, the third way is the right one: going under the mountain, with your car sitting on a train.
Let's be honest: the Vršič is a magnificent road, and I still drive it every year with pleasure. Yet the car train wins in four situations: in winter (the pass is closed, the tunnel couldn't care less), in a campervan (Vršič's cobbled hairpins are an ordeal in a long vehicle), when the driver doesn't enjoy mountain roads, and when you simply want the show: a train that swallows your car and spits it out on the other side of the Julian Alps isn't a transfer, it's an attraction. Most of my visiting friends still talk about it years later — rarely about the pass.
How it works, in practice
The first time, everyone hesitates a little — I did too, wondering where to go and who to pay. In practice it's disarmingly simple:
- 1. Arrive early at Bohinjska Bistrica station: loading closes 10 minutes before departure, and spaces go first come, first served. I always aim for 20 to 30 minutes ahead in summer.
- 2. Follow the "Avtovlak" signs to the loading ramp at the end of the platform. An attendant waves you forward onto the flat wagons — you literally drive along the train, from wagon to wagon, to the spot they point out.
- 3. Park, handbrake on, engine off, in first gear or park mode. And you stay in the car for the whole journey — that's the charm of it.
- 4. The ticket is bought on board: the conductor goes from car to car before departure, cash or card. No online sales, no reservations.
- 5. Enjoy: a few minutes after departure, the train dives into the Bohinj tunnel. Six and a half kilometres of darkness, the hammering of the wheels, then the light of the southern side — and often a different sky, because the two slopes don't always share the same weather.
The Bohinj tunnel (6,327 m) is Slovenia's longest railway tunnel. It was bored between 1900 and 1906 for the Transalpina, the imperial line that connected Vienna to Trieste, then the great port of Austria-Hungary. When you cross with your car riding on a train, you're using a 120-year-old structure that has never stopped working. After the Podbrdo stop, the train descends the Bača valley to Most na Soči — keep an eye out of the window, the descent is superb.
2026 timetable and fares
Figures verified in July 2026 with the Slovenian Railways (SŽ). The timetable below is valid until 12 December 2026; the fares apply since 1 July 2026 — SŽ raised its entire fare structure this summer, a first in twelve years.
| Route | Frequency | Duration | Car fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bohinjska Bistrica → Most na Soči | 3/day (4/day from 4 April to 4 October) | 42 to 49 min | €16.20 (driver included) |
| Most na Soči → Bohinjska Bistrica | 3/day (4/day from 4 April to 4 October) | about 44 min | €16.20 (driver included) |
| Bohinjska Bistrica ⇄ Podbrdo (tunnel only) | 1 extra midday rotation | 16 min | €10.60 (driver included) |
| Bohinjska Bistrica ⇄ Nova Gorica | 1/day (evening and morning train, April–October) | about 1 h 25 | €16.20 (driver included) |
2026 departures from Bohinjska Bistrica: 9:10, 13:30, 16:49 and 21:28 (the last one April to October, extended to Nova Gorica). Departures from Most na Soči: 7:44, 10:40, 14:42 and 18:40 (the last one April to October). Count €3.60 per extra passenger; a campervan or a car longer than 5 m falls into fare class 2, at €23.90 one way. Engineering works can occasionally alter the service: always check the day's timetable on the official SŽ website before driving to the ramp.
The bike train: Slovenia's most beautiful line on two wheels
The car train is only one section of the Bohinj line (Bohinjska proga), which runs from Jesenice to Nova Gorica via Bled Jezero, Bohinjska Bistrica and Most na Soči. It is, without much debate, the most beautiful line in the country: Austro-Hungarian stations, stone viaducts above the emerald Soča, and the Solkan bridge, the largest stone railway arch in the world, just before Nova Gorica. All the regular trains on the line take bikes, with a €3 supplement per journey (standard or electric bike — a folded folding bike travels free, as luggage). On the car train itself, the passenger carriage has 30 bike spaces.
My resident's tip: load the bike onto the train at Most na Soči, ride up to Bohinjska Bistrica or Bled Jezero, and cycle back down the whole valley — the Bača then the Soča, in a near-continuous descent, with a swim halfway for the brave (the water rarely exceeds 12°C, you have been warned). It's my favourite outing for showing the region to visiting friends. For more cycling ideas in the area, see our top 5 cycling routes around Kranjska Gora.
And once you're in Most na Soči?
You disembark on the shore of an emerald lake, at the southern entrance of the valley. From there, everything climbs north along a single panoramic road. First stop, five minutes away: Tolmin — I live right next door — and its spectacular gorges, the Tolminska korita, the lowest point of Triglav National Park. Then Kobarid and its remarkable First World War museum, and finally Bovec, Slovenia's whitewater capital. Careful if you plan to swim or kayak: since this season, a single Soča permit (2026) regulates access to the river between Bovec and Tolmin.
The car train also slots perfectly into a road trip: it's the classic move for leaving Bled and Bohinj and tipping over into the Soča Valley. Loading the car onto the train turns a simple transfer into a travel memory. Travelling without your own car? The valley is also reachable by public transport in season — see the Soča Valley without a car guide.
Frequently asked questions about the Bohinj car train
How do you transport a car by train in Slovenia?
Slovenia has a single motorail line: the avtovlak between Bohinjska Bistrica and Most na Soči (extended to Nova Gorica in season), through the Bohinj tunnel. You drive straight onto the flat wagons, stay in your car during the journey, and buy the ticket on board from the conductor.
How much does the Bohinj car train cost in 2026?
Since 1 July 2026, the Bohinjska Bistrica – Most na Soči single costs €16.20 for a car under 5 m, driver included, plus €3.60 per extra passenger. A campervan or a vehicle over 5 m pays €23.90. Payment on board, cash or card.
Do you need to book the avtovlak?
No — and you can't: there is no online booking or advance sales. Wagons fill up first come, first served, and loading closes 10 minutes before departure. In summer, arrive 20 to 30 minutes early to be sure of a spot.
Can you take a campervan on the car train?
Yes, campervans, vans and pick-ups are accepted up to 3 m high, 2.40 m wide and 10 tonnes. The 2026 fare is €23.90 one way for a vehicle over 5 m. Motorbikes, on the other hand, are not admitted on the car train.
Does the car train run in winter?
Yes, the avtovlak runs all year round, with 3 daily round trips in winter (4 from 4 April to 4 October). That's actually its biggest asset: when snow closes the Vršič pass, the Bohinj tunnel remains the most reliable way to enter the Soča Valley by car.
Timetable and fares verified on 4 July 2026 on the official Slovenian Railways (SŽ) motorail page and the bikes on SŽ trains page. Timetable valid until 12 December 2026, fares in force since 1 July 2026 — we will update this article if anything changes.
Patrick Faust
French expat in Slovenia since 2004. Founder of e-Slovénie, a Slovenia travel guide. Learn more →