On 18 August 1876 — Emperor Franz Joseph's birthday — the first train ran from Divača to Pula, plugging Istria into the Austro-Hungarian rail network. One hundred and fifty years later, this 122 km line is still there — single-track, non-electrified — and you can ride it from Ljubljana: a direct train every Friday (returning Sunday) plus a daily summer connection. In Koper, an anniversary exhibition runs until 18 October 2026. Here is the full story, with 2026 timetables and fares.
The Divača–Pula railway at a glance
| Fact | Key figures |
|---|---|
| First train | 18 August 1876, on Emperor Franz Joseph's birthday |
| Official opening | 20 September 1876, regular passenger and freight service |
| Length | 122 km from Divača to Pula, plus a 21 km branch to Rovinj (closed in 1966) |
| Highest point | Rodik station, 539 m — Pula lies at 2 m above sea level |
| Today | single-track, non-electrified (except Divača–Prešnica), operated by SŽ and HŽPP |
| Ljubljana–Pula direct | every Friday 4:40 pm → 9:31 pm, return on Sunday; from €19 |
| 150th anniversary | “C. k. istrska državna železnica” exhibition in Koper, until 18 October 2026 |
18 August or 20 September 1876? Two dates, one anniversary
Most anniversary notices cite 18 August 1876. That day, a ceremonial first train ran the whole line even though work was not quite finished — the date was no accident, being Emperor Franz Joseph I's birthday, and the monarchy liked to present its sovereign with inaugurations. Regular commercial service — passengers and freight, with connections to Trieste and Vienna — only began on 20 September 1876, together with the Rovinj branch. Two dates, one jubilee: it was on 18 August 2026 that Istria marked 150 years since its first train.
A railway built for a navy
The Imperial-Royal Istrian State Railway (C. k. istrska državna železnica) was never about tourism. In 1856 Austria made Pula — then a town of roughly 900 inhabitants — the main arsenal of its navy. The military port still had to be connected to the rest of the empire, and that meant a railway joining the great Vienna–Trieste main line at Divača.
The timing was terrible: the Vienna stock market crash of May 1873 dried up the private capital that had been funding railways until then. So the Austrian state built the line itself: the law of 30 April 1873 authorised the project with an initial 2 million gulden. Ground was broken in Pazin on 17 December 1873, under engineer Gustav Gerstel. Less than three years later — karst, cuttings and tunnels notwithstanding — the line was ready, worked by ten steam locomotives ordered in 1875 from the Viennese Floridsdorf and Mödling works.
As a military and demographic bet, at least for the terminus, it worked: by 1910 Pula counted more than 58,000 inhabitants — sixty times more than half a century earlier. Arsenal, shipyards, garrison: Istria's biggest town owed almost everything to its navy… and its railway. As early as 1887 the line was already carrying close to 200,000 passengers a year.
From Divača to Pula: the route
From Divača — which visitors to Slovenia mostly know as the station for the Škocjan Caves — the line climbs through the Karst to its highest point at Rodik (539 m), passes Hrpelje-Kozina and Prešnica (where today's line to the port of Koper branches off), skirts the hill villages of Podgorje, Zazid and Rakitovec, then crosses into Croatia to drop down to Buzet, cross Pazin, Istria's administrative heart, and reach Kanfanar, Vodnjan and Pula. At Kanfanar a 21 km branch once turned off towards Rovinj — opened in 1876 alongside the main line, closed in 1966.
Not to be confused with the Parenzana
The paradox of this military success is that ordinary Istrians long saw little of it. The route, chosen for strategy rather than economics, runs through the middle of the peninsula and ignores the densely populated north-west coast. To serve it, a second railway, the Parenzana, was built in 1902: 123 km of narrow-gauge track (760 mm) from Trieste to Poreč via Koper, Izola, Piran and Buje. It ran for just 33 years (1902–1935) and is now a cross-border cycling trail. The two lines are constantly mixed up: the Parenzana is the vanished little coastal railway, Divača–Pula the big inland line that is still running.
Four flags and a border
The line changed hands three times without moving an inch. Austrian until 1918, it became Italian between the wars (Ferrovie dello Stato), then Yugoslav after 1945. The break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991 finally cut it with a border: the stations from Divača to Rakitovec went to Slovenian Railways (SŽ), those from Buzet to Pula to Croatian Railways (HŽ). Cross-border traffic withered, freight disappeared from the Istrian section, and only the Divača–Prešnica stretch — electrified in 1975 to serve the port of Koper — stayed busy. The rest survives as a single-track diesel line, which is precisely its charm today.
Taking the Ljubljana–Pula train in 2026
The jubilee's good news: after decades of broken connections, you can once again reach Pula by train from Ljubljana. A Slovenian Railways Stadler Flirt unit runs a direct service every Friday, built for a weekend away — leave after work, come back Sunday afternoon. In summer, a daily “bathing train” connection is added.
| Connection | Days | 2026 times |
|---|---|---|
| Ljubljana → Pula direct (MV 1472) | every Friday, year-round | 4:40 pm → 9:31 pm (4 h 51) |
| Pula → Ljubljana direct (MV 1475) | every Sunday, year-round | 1:29 pm → 6:11 pm |
| Ljubljana → Pula via Divača | every Saturday | 3:20 pm → 10:16 pm (change at Divača) |
| “Bathing train” Ljubljana → Pula | daily, 27 June – 30 August 2026 | 6:00 am → 11:01 am (changes at Divača and Buzet) |
| “Bathing train” Pula → Ljubljana | daily, 27 June – 30 August 2026 | 5:30 pm → 10:44 pm |
Fares: the “Pula Spezial” offer costs €19 one-way and €29 return in 2nd class (€9.50 and €14.50 for ages 6–15). With the City Star SŽ–HŽ fare, children under 15 travel free with parents or grandparents (return €56 for one adult, €84 for two). Youth groups (6 or more people under 20) pay €17.40 return per person.
Check before you go: these times, valid since December 2025, are indicative — engineering works on the Croatian section (notably between Buzet and Pazin) may disrupt services in August 2026, with replacement buses. Check potniski.sz.si on the Slovenian side and hzpp.hr on the Croatian side. And on arrival, Pula's Roman amphitheatre is only about ten minutes' walk from the station.
The 150th-anniversary exhibition in Koper
For the jubilee, the Histria Humanities Society (Humanistično društvo Histria) — a learned society founded in Koper on 18 August 2006, so celebrating its own 20th birthday on the very same day — has dedicated an exhibition to the line: “C. k. istrska državna železnica”, period photographs, archival documents and railway objects, assembled with the Historical and Maritime Museum of Istria in Pula, the Koper Regional Archives and the Santorio Santorio Italian community. A Slovenian-Croatian-Italian collaboration, much like the railway itself.
- Where: Studium Histria, Kontrada building, Kidričeva ulica, in the old town of Koper
- When: 18 August to 18 October 2026
- Practical info: opening hours from the society — histriaweb.eu
On the Croatian side, the anniversary comes with a monograph, “Stoljeće i pol pruge Divača–Pula” (“A Century and a Half of the Divača–Pula Line”), published by Croatia's railway engineers — proof that the jubilee is being taken seriously on both sides of the border.
Frequently asked questions about the Divača–Pula railway
When did the Divača–Pula railway open?
The first train ran on 18 August 1876, Emperor Franz Joseph's birthday, over the 122 km between Divača and Pula. Regular service began on 20 September 1876. The line celebrated its 150th anniversary on 18 August 2026.
Can you travel from Ljubljana to Pula by train in 2026?
Yes. A direct train (Stadler Flirt) leaves Ljubljana every Friday at 4:40 pm and reaches Pula at 9:31 pm; the direct return leaves Pula on Sunday at 1:29 pm. On Saturdays there is a connection with one change at Divača, and from 27 June to 30 August a daily “bathing train” runs with changes at Divača and Buzet.
How much is the Ljubljana–Pula train?
With the Pula Spezial offer, €19 one-way and €29 return in 2nd class (€9.50 and €14.50 for ages 6–15). With the City Star fare, children under 15 accompanied by parents or grandparents travel free.
Why was the railway built?
To connect the great arsenal of the Austro-Hungarian navy, established in Pula in 1856, to the empire's rail network via Divača on the Vienna–Trieste axis. After the 1873 stock market crash, the Austrian state itself financed and built the line, between December 1873 and the summer of 1876.
Is the Divača–Pula line the Parenzana?
No. The Parenzana was a narrow-gauge Trieste–Poreč line along the coast (Koper, Izola, Piran), operated from 1902 to 1935 and now a cycling trail. The standard-gauge Divača–Pula line crosses inland Istria via Buzet and Pazin, and is still running.
Where can I see the 150th-anniversary exhibition?
In Koper, at the Studium Histria premises in the Kontrada building, Kidričeva ulica, from 18 August to 18 October 2026. It shows photographs, archival documents and historical objects gathered by the Histria Humanities Society and its Slovenian, Croatian and Italian partners.
Keep exploring
If heritage railways are your thing, the Bohinj Railway, which turned 120 in 2026, is the country's other great rail journey. Before boarding the Friday train, explore Koper and the rest of the Slovenian coast, or use the Divača stop to visit the Škocjan Caves. For the rest of the country, our guide to getting around Slovenia compares train, bus and car.
Patrick Faust
French expat in Slovenia since 2004. Founder of e-Slovénie, a Slovenia travel guide. Learn more →