Ljubljana's railway station is Slovenia's biggest rail project after the second Divača-Koper track: €243.9 million for the station itself, about a billion euros once you add the bus station and the Emonika district rising on the old waste ground next door. For travellers this means seven new platforms since 31 August 2026, a footbridge and an underpass that finally link trains, buses and the city centre under cover in March 2027, and a permanent bus station plus on-site hotels in 2027-2028. Here is what the Ljubljana Passenger Centre (Potniški center Ljubljana) will change for you, step by step, with the announced dates and what to know while the cranes are still there.
The new Ljubljana station timeline in one table
| Element | What it changes for travellers | Announced date |
|---|---|---|
| 7 permanent platforms (8.7 m wide, canopies) | End of the temporary platforms and the ten-minute walk to platforms 94-98 | In service since 31 August 2026 |
| Temporary bus station, Masarykova cesta | 46 bays, 5 counters, left luggage, toilets, 300 m east of the old one | Since 24 August 2026, until the permanent station opens |
| 110 m south footbridge and bridge to Emonika | Covered crossing over the tracks, ticket office, waiting room, shelter for 600 people | March 2027 |
| Underpass doubled in size | Two-way cycle lane separated from pedestrians, exits to the old building and Vilharjeva | March 2027 |
| 8 lifts and 8 escalators | Every platform reachable with a suitcase, pushchair, wheelchair or bike | March 2027 |
| Emonika: 21,500 m² shopping centre, offices, 187 flats | Shops, restaurants and services straight off the platforms | 2027 |
| Tribe hotel (Accor) | Sleep inside the station, handy for a first or last night | Late 2027 |
| Eurostars 5-star hotel, 205 rooms | The capital's first new five-star in years | 2028 |
| Permanent bus station (SŽ), north terminal on Vilharjeva | 30 bays, underground car park, regional buses, Bled, the coast and the airport back next to the platforms | Contractor not yet chosen in September 2026, delivery targeted for 2028; south terminal on Masarykova (12 bays) in 2029 |
| Phase 2: Šiška, Moste, Polje and Zalog stations | Frequent suburban trains, better links to the districts | Under study, 2029 and beyond |
| Rail link to Jože Pučnik Airport | No more compulsory bus or taxi | National plan under consultation in 2026, not before the 2030s |
The dates are those announced in late August 2026 by the Slovenian Infrastructure Directorate (DRSI), Slovenian Railways (SŽ) and Mendota Invest, Emonika's developer. They have slipped several times already (the station was promised for summer 2026), so treat them as a rough guide.
Why rebuild the station: the numbers behind the Ljubljana hub
The 1849 station had become the bottleneck of the Slovenian network. Every day 450 trains pass through the Ljubljana hub: about 300 passenger trains carrying 25,000 commuters, and 150 freight trains on the two European corridors, Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean. Platforms were too short, too narrow and cut off from the centre by an underpass from another age. The works launched in 2023 give the station 13 tracks, 11 of them with platforms, lengthen the tracks for 740 m freight trains that will no longer block passengers, and build a two-level footbridge that acts as a station hall above the tracks, with ticket office and waiting room.
The cost, €243.9 million including VAT, is covered to the tune of €180 million by the EU recovery plan. The consortium brings together SŽ-ŽGP, Kolektor Igin, CGP and GH Holding. A second phase, still at the design stage (€8.46 million of EU funds for the documentation), will rebuild the Šiška, Moste, Polje and Zalog stations to allow a proper Ljubljana suburban rail service.
What the new station changes in practice for a visitor
1. Train, bus and city centre finally connected under cover
Today, arriving by train and leaving by bus for Bled or the airport means crossing the building site and walking 300 m to the temporary bus station. From March 2027 the 110 m footbridge links the platforms directly to the southern forecourt and, via a bridge, to Vilharjeva cesta on the north side, where the main terminal of the permanent bus station will be built next to the Emonika district. The underpass, twice its former size, comes out at the 1849 building on the city-centre side and on Vilharjeva cesta to the north.
2. A station accessible to everyone, suitcase and bike included
Eight lifts and eight escalators serve the seven platforms from the footbridge and the underpass. The underpass includes a two-way cycle lane separated from pedestrians, a first for a Slovenian station and the missing piece for bike-and-train travel to Bohinj, the Soča or the coast. Until then you still push the bike up the stairs.
3. The services of a proper European station
Ticket office, waiting room, toilets and a first-aid room move into the footbridge. Emonika adds a 21,500 m² shopping centre with around a hundred shops and restaurants, more than 30,000 m² of offices and 187 flats: enough to buy a charger, eat properly or wait for a night train without wandering the neighbourhood. For now, left luggage and toilets are at the temporary bus station, and the good addresses remain those in our Ljubljana city break.
4. Sleeping inside the station
Two hotels open in Emonika: a Tribe (Accor's lifestyle brand, run by Mogotel) in late 2027 and a five-star Eurostars with 205 rooms in 2028, over 380 rooms in total with the serviced apartments. For a train trip from Austria, Italy or Germany, that means arriving late and leaving early for Bled or the Soča without crossing town with your bags.
5. More trains, and better ones
The new station goes with a renewed timetable: the 20 Stadler FLIRT units have replaced the old regional trains, 12 extra direct services to Austria have run since 21 March 2026, Villach-Ljubljana trains have been extended to Zagreb since 2 February 2026, but for Munich you still change in Villach or Salzburg: there is no direct daytime train in 2026. In December 2025 SŽ ordered twenty international coaches and four Vectron locomotives good for 200 km/h on the main lines, with Wi-Fi, USB sockets and more room for bikes. The Nightjet sleeper to Munich and Stuttgart remains the easiest way to reach Slovenia without flying.
And the airport? No train for a long while
This is the disappointment of the file. Jože Pučnik Airport, 25 km away, still has no rail. In early 2026 the state opened consultation on a spatial plan for a single electrified track at 130 km/h linking the Kranj line to the Kamnik line via the airport, with a Ljubljana-Kranj-airport-Mengeš-Ljubljana loop. The municipalities along the route oppose it and this kind of procedure takes a decade: do not count on it before the 2030s. Until then the bus from the bus station (bay 28 today), GoOpti shuttles and taxis are the options, detailed in our airport transfer comparison and our guide to which airport to fly into for Slovenia.
How to use the station during the works (September 2026 to March 2027)
- Trains: the seven permanent platforms are in service and temporary platforms 94-98 have been removed. Boards show the platform about twenty minutes before departure.
- Temporary bus station: Masarykova cesta, south side of the tracks, 300 m east of the historic building. 46 bays, five counters taking cards, an Urbanomat, a cash machine, left luggage, toilets and 30 Nomago Bikes. Counters open Monday to Friday 5 am to 10.30 pm, Saturday 5 am to 10 pm, Sunday 5.30 am to 10.30 pm. Timetables and bay numbers unchanged.
- Train-to-bus connection: allow ten minutes on foot with luggage, and 15 to 20 minutes more margin than usual.
- Bike: bikes are pushed through the historic underpass; bike-sized lifts arrive with the footbridge in 2027. The SŽ bike ticket costs €3 per journey since 1 July 2026 (previously €1.50 per day).
- Car: the district is a building site and Dunajska cesta was closed for months in 2026. If you rent a car, pick it up at the airport instead, see our car rental guide.
Emonika: twenty years of waiting, a whole new district
The waste ground between the station, Dunajska and Vilharjeva is a Ljubljana saga: the Emonika project, named after the Roman town of Emona, was launched in the 2000s by Hungarian developer TriGranit, abandoned in 2014, taken over by a Romanian fund in 2017, then bought in 2019 by Hungary's OTP banking group through Mendota Invest. Final permits came in February 2024, work started the same year, opening is announced for 2027. In total 180,000 m² of floor space, more than €350 million of private investment and a 100 m tower on the north side that redraws the Bežigrad skyline. The permanent bus station, built by SŽ and run by its subsidiary Nomago, will go up right next door on Vilharjeva cesta: 30 bays, shops and three levels of underground parking, for an estimated €75 million, although the four bids received in July 2026 range from €121.7 to €139.5 million including VAT and the contractor has not yet been chosen. An appeal against the building permit filed by the Alpe Adria Green association in December 2025 may still delay the works; a 12-bay south terminal will follow on Masarykova cesta in 2029.
A resident's take
For twenty years I have told readers to arrive in Slovenia by train and carry on without a car, and for twenty years Ljubljana station was the counter-argument: a narrow underpass, stairs with the suitcase, an open-air bus station and nowhere warm to wait. What is being built here is the missing piece of car-free Slovenia. My advice for 2026-2027: still come by train, but allow the margin, travel light and see the works for what they are, a few months of nuisance for thirty years of comfort. Our getting around Slovenia and Ljubljana to Bled without a car guides are updated at each stage of the works.
For the city itself, our Ljubljana guide covers the castle, the neighbourhoods, Plečnik's architecture and how to get around, with links to our Ljubljana Airport transfer comparison and the new railway station.
Frequently asked questions
When will the new Ljubljana station be finished?
The seven permanent platforms have been in service since 31 August 2026. The footbridge, the enlarged underpass and the lifts are due in March 2027. The permanent bus station and the Emonika centre follow in 2027-2028, and the whole Ljubljana Passenger Centre, hotels included, around 2028-2029.
How much does the new Ljubljana station cost?
€243.9 million including VAT for the railway station, €180 million of it from the EU recovery plan. With the bus station (estimated at €75 million, bids between €122 and €140 million including VAT, funded by SŽ) and the private Emonika district (over €350 million), the Ljubljana Passenger Centre approaches a billion euros.
Where is Ljubljana bus station in 2026?
On Masarykova cesta, south of the tracks, 300 m east of the old bus station, since 24 August 2026. It has 46 bays, five counters, left luggage and toilets. Buses to Bled, the coast and the airport (bay 28) leave from there.
Will there be a train between Ljubljana and the airport?
Not before the 2030s. The national spatial plan for an electrified line via Jože Pučnik Airport has been under consultation since early 2026 and faces opposition from the municipalities along the route. Until then, buses, GoOpti shuttles and taxis cover the link.
Which hotels are opening at Ljubljana station?
A Tribe hotel (Accor group) in late 2027 and a five-star Eurostars with 205 rooms in 2028, both inside the Emonika complex, linked to the platforms by the footbridge.
Can you take a bike on the train in Ljubljana?
Yes, on regional trains and most Intercity services, with a €3 bike ticket per journey since 1 July 2026. In 2026 you still push the bike through the underpass; the new underpass cycle lane and bike-sized lifts arrive in March 2027.
Figures and dates collected on 3 September 2026 from the Slovenian Infrastructure Directorate (gov.si, krajsamorazdalje.si), Slovenian Railways (sz.si, potniski.sz.si), RTV Slovenija and Mendota Invest (emonika.si). Image: architect's view of the footbridge and platforms of the Ljubljana Passenger Centre, © Elea iC.
Patrick Faust
French expat in Slovenia since 2004. Founder of e-Slovénie, a Slovenia travel guide. Learn more →