Trieste-Fiume cross-border train runs again after decades

(ANSA) - BELGRADE, MAR 27 - A new cross-border passenger rail service will operate between Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia on two historic rail routes: from Villa Opicina to Pivka and then down to the port of Rijeka.
    Under the Interreg Central Europe Sustance, the rail link will connect Villa Opicina (Italy) to Rijeka (Croatia) via Divaca-Pivka (Slovenia) starting in April. This Interreg program aims to improve the connection between Central Europe's rural, peripheral, and cross-border areas.
    The link has vital historical significance because it represents a rapprochement between several countries that, in the aftermath of World War II, had severed connections and relations between the two worlds on both sides of the Bloc.
    The rail convoy will travel partly on the historic Southern Railway, which Suedbahn between Vienna and Trieste completed in 1857, and partly on the Pivka-Fiume, built during the Habsburg era and opened to traffic in 1873.
    The passenger train, which aims to attract commuters and tourists, will leave Villa Opicina daily from April 24 to September 30 - but the service may be extended - at 7:50 a.m.
    and arrive in Rijeka at 9:54 a.m., returning from Rijeka at 6:25 p.m. and arriving in Villa Opicina at 8:40 p.m.
    Tickets will be available for purchase at stations or, where ticket offices are not available, in cash directly on the train.
    The ticket price for the one-way trip—discounted by 50 percent on regular fares given the route's importance for the railways involved—is set at 8 euros, and that for carrying a bicycle at 5 euros. For children aged 6 to 12, the price will be 4 euros, whereas the train will be free for children under 6.
    The new connection results from a collaboration between the Executive Secretariat of the Central European Initiative, the project leader, Slovenian Railways, and Croatian Railways.
    The Slovenian Railways will provide the train that will run on the line, a modern Stadler, while the two companies' staff will operate the train on their respective routes. (ANSA).