{{Short description|Slovenian-Italian cross-border railway}} {{Multiple issues| {{more footnotes needed|date=February 2013}} {{Expand Slovene|Bohinjska proga|fa=yes|date=March 2009}} {{Expand German|topic=transp|Bahnstrecke Jesenice–Trieste|fa=no|date=January 2012}} }} {{Infobox rail line | name = Jesenice–Nova Gorica–Trieste Campo Marzio<br />Bohinj Railway | image = Solkanski most čez Sočo2.jpg | image_width = 300px | caption = [[Solkan Bridge]], the second-longest stone bridge in the world<ref name="Humar">{{cite conference |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7ywmb24EQMC&dq=%22world+famous+arch+bridges+in+slovenia%22&pg=PA121 |title=World Famous Arch Bridges in Slovenia |language=en, fr |author=Gorazd Humar |date=September 2001 |publisher=Presses des Ponts |book-title=Arch'01: troisième Conférence internationale sur les ponts en arc Paris |editor=Charles Abdunur |pages=121–124 |location=Paris |isbn=2-85978-347-4}}</ref> |linenumber = {{ubl|70 (Austria)|67 (Italy)}} |linelength = {{cvt|129|km}} |gauge = 1435mm |electrification = <small>Villa Opicina–Trieste:</small> 3 kV [[Direct current|DC]] |maxincline = 2,5[[Percent sign|%]] |speed = {{cvt|80|km/h}} max. | map = {{Bohinj Railway RDT}} | map_state = collapsed }}
The '''Bohinj Railway''' ({{langx|sl|Bohinjska proga}}, {{langx|it|Transalpina}}, {{langx|de|Wocheiner Bahn}}) is a [[railway]] in [[Slovenia]] and [[Italy]]. It connects [[Jesenice]] in Slovenia with [[Trieste]] in Italy. It was built by [[Austria-Hungary]] from 1900 to 1906 as a part of a new [[strategic railway]], the [[Neue Alpenbahnen]], that would connect Western Austria and Southern Germany with the then Austro-Hungarian port of Trieste. The line starts in Jesenice, at the southern end of the [[Karawanks Tunnel (railway)|Karawanks Tunnel]]; it then crosses the [[Julian Alps]] through the [[Bohinj]] Tunnel, and passes the border town of [[Nova Gorica]] before crossing the Italian border and reaching Trieste.
During the [[World War I|First World War]], it carried the majority of Austrian military supplies to the [[Battles of the Isonzo|Isonzo Front]]. Because of new political divisions in Europe, with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary into separate states in 1918 and the isolation of [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|communist Yugoslavia]] after 1945, the railway decreased in importance during the twentieth century. However, Slovenia's accession to the [[European Union]] has created new prospects for the railway as a convenient passenger and freight route from Central and Eastern Europe to the port of Trieste.
Distinctive features of the railway are the {{convert|6327.3|m|ft|adj=on}} [[Bohinj]] Tunnel under {{convert|1498|m|ft|adj=on}} Mount [[Kobla]] and the [[Solkan Bridge]] with its {{convert|85|m|ft|adj=on}} arch over the [[Soča River]] (the longest stone railway arch in the world).
==Names== * The [[Slovenian language|Slovenian]] name for the railway is ''Bohinjska proga'' (Bohinj railway), referring to both the valley and the town of [[Bohinj]]. * The [[German language|German]] name for it is ''Wocheiner Bahn'' (the German name of Bohinj); the southern part of the railway, beyond Nova Gorica, has also been known as the ''Karstbahn''. At the time of construction, the official designation was ''Karawanken- und Wocheinerbahn'', in reference to the Karawanks railway from which it originates in Jesenice: together with the [[Tauern Railway]] (''Tauernbahn''), it formed the New Alpine Railways project (''Neue Alpenbahnen''). * In [[Italian language|Italian]], the railway is known as the ''Ferrovia Transalpina'' (the Cross-Alps Railway), and that name is still used for Italian services between [[Gorizia]] and Trieste.
==History==
===The political decision=== In 1869, the Trieste Chamber of Commerce had sent a petition to the Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph]], in which they argued that the opening that year of the [[Suez Canal]] would indubitably lead to further development of Trieste, the main port of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]; therefore, a second railway line to [[Vienna]] or the northern parts of Austria would be needed to support increased maritime traffic, in addition to the existing [[Austrian Southern Railway]]. The discussion regarding the path that new railway would take was not easily settled, and led to a "nearly thirty year long war".<ref>{{cite book| last=Heinersdorff| title=Die k.u.k. privilegierten Eisenbahnen| page=120}}</ref>
Only by 1901 was this dispute settled. On 12 February of that year, the Minister for Railway Affairs of Austria [[Heinrich Ritter von Wittek]] brought a bill to the attention of the [[Imperial Council (Austria)|Imperial Council]] (the Austrian parliament) for the construction of and public investment in new railways. After approval by both chambers, the Emperor signed the bill into law on 6 June 1901.<ref>{{ANNO|rgb|04|00|1901|00000201|NAME=Reichsgesetzblatt für die im Reichsrath vertretenen Königreiche und Länder|AUTOR=|RGBl 1901/63|ZUSATZ=|ALTSEITE=201–207|anno-plus=ja}}</ref> Among other provisions, the law provided that the Karawanks and Wocheiner (now Bohinj) railways should be built by 1905 as main lines of the first rank. The cost of that railway was estimated at 103.6 million [[Austro-Hungarian krone|Kronen]], by far the most expensive railway project in the law. That cost would be covered by the issue of government bonds.
To overhaul such a large project, the Minister named a Construction Director directly subordinate to him, the engineer Karl Wurmb. In 1905, both Minister Wittek and Wurmb were subjected to criticism in parliament regarding cost overruns incurred by the construction because of geological difficulties.
On the Austrian Littoral side of the route, the builders first faced more demanding work in [[Podbrdo, Tolmin|Podbrdo]]. [[Giacomo Ceconi]]’s company started the exploratory shaft along the axis of the planned [[Bohinj Tunnel]] as early as 1900. The works on the rest of the route for the Bohinj Railway was subcontracted in spring 1903. The section between [[Podbrdo, Tolmin|Podbrdo]] and [[Šempeter pri Gorici|Šempeter]] was divided into nine parts: construction of the first five sections from Podbrdo to [[Ajba]] was taken over by the Viennese company [[Brüder Redlich und Berger]], and the remaining four sections to Šempeter were taken over by the Italian company [[Sard, Lenassi & Co]] incorporated in [[Gorizia]] for this project by the Italian engineer [[Giovanni Battista Sard]] of [[Turin]]. Construction of the section between Podbrdo and [[Grahovo ob Bači|Grahovo]] was the most demanding: eight [[bridge]]s, thirty-three [[culvert]]s, and six [[tunnel]]s had to be built because of avalanche slopes and watery terrain. The most important and still most admired structures along the entire Bohinj Railway are the [[Bohinj Tunnel]], the [[Idrijca Viaduct]] at [[Bača pri Modreju]], and the [[Solkan Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=RIS Damjan Leban s.p., www.leban.si |title=Bohinj Railway - Construction - Tolmin Museum |url=https://www.tol-muzej.si/bohinjska-proga/en/03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250218133757/https://www.tol-muzej.si/bohinjska-proga/en/03 |archive-date=2025-02-18 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=www.tol-muzej.si}}</ref>
===Operation until 1945=== After the [[World War I|First World War]], the railway was separated to [[Yugoslavia]] and [[Italy]] as a result of the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. The border had been located in the middle of the Bohinj tunnel; Italy obtained the whole area of the [[Soča|Isonzo valley]]. In Italy, the new Solkan bridge was reconstructed in its original form.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesheer.at/truppendienst/ausgaben/artikel.php?id=1526 |title=Der Eisenbahnviadukt von Solkan/Salkano |author=Eduard Jordan |website=bundesheer.at |publisher=Bundesministrium Landesverteidigung |language=de |accessdate=2021-11-10 |archive-date=2022-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928125846/https://www.bundesheer.at/truppendienst/ausgaben/artikel.php?id=1526 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The segment Villa Opicina–Trieste was until 1936 electrified with the 3000 V [[direct current]].
===Operation since 1945=== In 1945, the border between Italy and Yugoslavia moved in the western direction; most parts of the Isonzo valley then belonged to Yugoslavia. Until 1948, the Kreplje–Sežana branch line was constructed; near Sežana it connects to the historical [[Austrian Southern Railway]]. This connection enables traffic between the Southern Railway and this line to avoid Italian territory altogether. At this time, the passenger service south of Kreplje ceased, terminating at Sežana instead of continuing into Italy. The original southern terminus, Trieste Campo Marzio, thereafter served only local passenger traffic, and entirely closed to passengers in 1960. Because of political isolation in Europe, the Bohinj Railway lost its importance from 1945 to 1990.
After the opening of the Koper Railway in 1967, services ran from Koper via the Karst Railway and this line into Germany or Austria. After the earthquake in [[Friuli]] in 1976, it was used as a detour for express trains.<ref>Pilgram: ''Das Weite suchen'', S. 95</ref> Since the beginning of the 1990s, rail transport has been mostly via [[Municipality of Pivka|Pivka]] and [[Ljubljana]], which caused the [[Soča]] corridor to decline significantly.
The accession of Slovenia and other states to the European Union in 2004 and to the Schengen area at the end of 2007 significantly increased rail traffic from large parts of Europe to the ports of Trieste and Koper, which are conveniently located especially for the Czech Republic, southern Germany, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary, by abolishing border controls. Nevertheless, international passenger services on the Bohinj Railway did not resume.
==See also== *[[Transalpina/Europe Square]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Literature == * {{cite journal| title=Die Eisenbahnneubauten in Oesterreich. Wocheiner-Bahn| journal=Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung. Nachrichten der Reichs- und Staatsbehörden| publisher=Herausgegeben im Ministerium der Öffentlichen Arbeiten| issue=56| year=1903| volume=XXIII| location=Berlin|pages=357ff| url=http://opus.kobv.de/zlb/volltexte/2008/3665/pdf/ZBBauverw_1903_057.pdf}} {{ZDB|200914-6}} * {{ANNO|oiz|05|00|1905|00000998|AUTOR=|ZUSATZ=Nr. 44/1905|Die Wocheiner Bahn (Hiezu 12 Bilder)|NAME=Österreichs Illustrierte Zeitung|ALTSEITE=998 f.|anno-plus=ja}}. * {{cite journal| title=Die Eröffnung der Wocheiner Linie der neuen Alpenbahn Salzburg-Triest| author-link=Albert Hofmann (architect)| first=Albert| last=Hofmann| journal=[[Deutsche Bauzeitung]]| year=1906| issue=62| volume=XL| publisher=Verlag der Deutschen Bauzeitung| location=Berlin|pages=422ff| url=http://opus.kobv.de/btu/volltexte/2011/2186/pdf/z241_Bd._40_H._8.pdf}} {{ZDB|211963-8}} * {{cite journal| author-link=Fritz Benesch | first=Fritz| last=Benesch| title=Verkehrsbuch österreichischer Eisenbahnen| journal=Krain und Küstenland| publisher=Reisser| location=Wien| year=1910| url=http://www.dlib.si/v2/StreamFile.aspx?URN=URN:NBN:SI:DOC-NT07IPF3&id=4d53e2ab-5f9e-44e8-b576-aa4547c35769&type=PDF}} * {{ANNO|abz|03|00|1911|00000025|NAME=|AUTOR=Max Klodič von Sabladoski|Der Bau des Wocheiner Tunnels|ZUSATZ=LXXVI. Jahrgang|ALTSEITE=25–41 sowie Pläne 16–21.|anno-plus=ja}}. * {{cite journal| title=Illustrierter Führer auf den k.k. Österreichischen Staatsbahnen| author=Siebente Auflage| issue=36| journal=Für die Strecken Schwarzach-St. Veit–Badgastein–Villach, Villach–Rosenbach–Assling–Görz–Triest| publisher=Steyrermühl| location=Wien| year=1912| url=http://www.dlib.si/?urn=URN:NBN:SI:DOC-NP6A0ERK}} * {{cite book| first=Richard| last=Heinersdorff| title=Die k.u.k. privilegierten Eisenbahnen der österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie| volume=1| publisher=Verlag Fritz Molden| location=Wien| year=1975| isbn=3-217-00571-6}} * {{cite book| first1=Gerhard| last1=Pilgram| first2=Wilhelm| last2=Berger| others=Gerhard Maurer illustrator| title=Das Weite suchen. Zu Fuß von Kärnten nach Triest. Ein Wander-Reise-Lesebuch| publisher=Carinthia-Verlag| location=Klagenfurt| year=2006| isbn=978-3-85378-594-2}} * {{cite journal| first=Elmar| last=Oberegger| title=Die wichtigsten Hauptbahnen| journal=Alpen-Donau-Adria-Raumes| publisher=Eigenverlag Info-Büro für Österreichische Eisenbahngeschichte| location=Sattledt| year=2007| url=http://media.obvsg.at/AC06511358-1001}} {{ZDB|2387534-3}} * {{cite book| first=Karol| last=Rustja| title=Proga predorov| edition=2nd| publisher=Železniško gospodarstvo, Odsek za muzejsko dejavnost| location=Ljubljana| year=1990| language=sl}} {{COBISS|ID=13198338}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Bohinj Railway}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Railway lines in Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] [[Category:Railway lines in Slovenia]] [[Category:Cross-border railway lines in Italy]] [[Category:Cross-border railway lines in Slovenia]] [[Category:International railway lines]] [[Category:Strategic railways]] [[Category:Railway lines opened in 1906]] [[Category:1906 establishments in Austria-Hungary]]