Bosnia and Herzegovina
FIP Information
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, using FIP requires careful planning because there are very few trains per day. Apart from a few privately organised charter trains, only connections that can be used with FIP are available. Due to the country’s political structure, these are split between Željeznice Republike Srpske (ŽRS), which operate rail traffic in the Republika Srpska Federation, and Željeznice Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (ŽFBH) in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While FIP discounted tickets are offered for both ŽRS and ŽFBH, FIP Coupons are only available for ŽRS.
FIP discounted tickets can be purchased exclusively on-site. FIP is not always known as a discount, so a ticket with another discount may be issued instead. Some knowledge of the local language is helpful when buying tickets.
ŽFBH Website
On the ŽFBH website, all ŽFBH connections for the current timetable year are displayed on a single overview page. Only connections operated by the ŽFBH are listed. Precise connection information is currently not available.
ŽRS Website
On the ŽRS website, all current ŽRS connections can be found via a journey planner. Only trains operated by the ŽRS are listed.
vagonWeb
On the vagonWeb website, you can search for individual train numbers. However, it is not possible to search for connections. If several trains with the same train number exist, you must select the correct route of the train. Afterwards, the Carrier is displayed. For cross-border connections, multiple operators are shown.
Interesting
The rail network of Bosnia and Herzegovina totals around 1,000 kilometres, but far from all lines are still in operation. Both operators, ŽRS and ŽFBH, focus on only a few routes and run these with very few trains per day. Careful planning for train use is therefore essential.
Trains crossing the country’s entity borders are generally not currently offered in the regular timetable. International connections are only very limited. There are trains to Croatia, but only to Ploče, which is not connected to the rest of the Croatian rail network. To Serbia, there is only a rather incidental connection, because Štrpci station on the internal Serbian line from Belgrade to Prijepolje Teretna (partly continuing to Montenegro) only runs briefly through Bosnian territory.
The Sarajevo–Mostar route connects not only the two most popular cities in the country, but also belongs to the most scenic rail routes in Europe.
Arrival and Border Points
Croatia
From the Croatian station of Ploče, which is not connected to the rest of the Croatian rail network, a train runs at certain times of the year on certain days of the week to Sarajevo. To use it, you need either FIP Coupons of Croatian HŽ and Bosnian ŽFBH, or a through FIP discounted ticket.
The other border crossings are not currently served. One option is to travel to the Croatian station of Volinja and then, for example, take a taxi to the first Bosnian station of Dobrljin. Very few ŽRS trains run from there. Whether a sensible connection is possible must therefore be checked before travelling.
Serbia
Štrpci station is currently the only station in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a cross-border connection to Serbia. The station in the far east of the country is part of the internal Serbian line from Belgrade to Prijepolje Teretna (partly continuing to Montenegro) and only briefly crosses Bosnian territory. Border controls are usually waived here. An FIP Coupon or FIP discounted ticket of Serbian SV is required here, as the operator does not change for the short cross-border section. The station is not connected to the rest of the Bosnian rail network.
Montenegro
There is currently no direct rail connection between Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A long-distance bus must be used instead.
