Tuesday 6th February:
Getting to St Pancras for my Eurostar should have been the easiest bit today - but unfortunately due to a broken down train in front of mine at Clapham Junction, making the 0931 St Pancras to Paris was suddenly looking decidedly uncertain! Fortunately the check-in was made by a whisker and my pleads with the staff that I had been rehearsing on the tube were not needed - had I missed is there was a risk to all of my connections right through to Zagreb!
Aside from discovering that a man opposite me had been stuck on the same train south of the Thames, the Eurostar journey was uneventful. As is customary, on arrival at Parks Gare du Nord I had a quick look for locos- just the one engine was lurking on the blocks, its train having just departed with my arrival. Picking up a baguette, pain au chocolat and bottle of Orangina I wandered across to Paris Est, immediately regretting not buying a Paris 2024 Olympic t-shirt from the pop-up stall at Nord.
The high speed line to Strasbourg is impressive as it speeds up and down gradients. After crossing into Germany things immediately slowed down but once the high speed line was re-joined arrivals into both Karlsruhe and Stuttgart were only 5 minutes behind schedule.
Obviously I 'had' to go in search of more trains during my layover in Stuttgart and after depositing my bag in a luggage locker I was off again to the town of Waiblingen for a quick look at the old town and an even quicker beer and then the main event of picking up 111 112 on a vice turn back into town.
This didn't allow a lot of time for dinner and to pick up supplies before my overnight train and as things worked out I took a later train from Stuttgart, overtaking the sleeper which I instead joined at Ulm. this greatly displeased the sleeper attendant who declared that I could have lost my bed since this was not Stuttgart as it said on my reservation! He then showed me to my 3 bed sleeper and assured me that nobody else was booked in it- result! 1116 076 worked through to Villach and I must have slept reasonably well as I only stirred a few times, once catching a snowy alpine landscape as we transited Austria.
Rail moves:
09:31 London - Paris (12:58) - Eurostar 374021/022
13:51 Paris Est - Stuttgart (17:04) - TGV 4175
20:14 (delayed) Stuttgart - Ulm - ICE (UID)
EN40237 20:29 Stuttgart (from Ulm)- Zagreb (10:39) - 1116 067 Stuttgart - Villach. 2016 141 Villach - Dobova. 1142 007 Dobova - Zagreb.
Wednesday 7th February:
It was reassuring to arrive on time at Jesenice and into Slovenia, now with 2016 141 in charge. The journey along the river Sava between Ljubljana and Zagreb was a delight in the morning sun- I had been looking forward to this bit. Following a delay due to single line working near Zidani Most we arrived 10 minutes late to Dobova for the last engine swap to 1142 007. Since Croatia has joined Schengen and the Eurozone there are now no customers here and we are shortly on the move again. After slow running we arrive 20 minutes late into Zagreb leaving me another tight connection.
Having purchased a ticket in time I joined a local service to Sisek from where the most ambitions part of my journey would commence - crossing into Bosnia and on to their disjointed rail network. Determined to travel on as much of the Republika Srpska railways as I could I took a taxi at €55 from Sisek to Hrvatska Kostajnica (Sisek being the closest point I could reach by rail where I could be sure of onward transport- unfortunately the train to Kostajnica, as well as the bus from Siske would simply be too late for my Bosnian train). The taxi driver, Damir spoke excellent English and we had a great chat on the 45 minute journey. He explained that my trip reminded him of his travels by rail prior to the fall of Yugoslavia. We agreed on much of the state of the world, and discussed Croatia's favorite TV show - 'Only Fools and Horses!, but I'm afraid he did loose me with his personal belief that the recent earthquake in Turkey was the work of the USA 'as a punishment'.
The reason for this convoluted journey is the restrictive passenger network in Bosnia- the international train from Zagreb to Sarajevo stopped running several years ago and since Covid even the train linking the Republika Srpska with Sarajevo has been discontinued.
Physically crossing into Bosnia & Herzegovina was straightforward enough - walk across the river Una, get stamped out of the EU and into Bosnia. I had an hour until my train from the next town of Dobrljin and believed there to be a bus at 14:00 from outside the supermarket. I popped in since I needed supplies (and had no time in Zagreb) and with a meat burek and donut in hand I felt briefly quite pleased with myself. I asked at the checkout about busses since there were no times at the stop and was told that there was no bus until 18:00! I then feel I may have missed a minibus as discussions about taxis ensued. The staff seemed to imply that they would sort something out and for a brief moment I even thought one of them was going to drive me, but alas, their contact did not pick up the phone. I tried another shop were a lady who turned out to be a customer with very good English did her best to help. She left on her bike at the point where somebody had been arranged by phone to pick me up. - 5 minutes later the shopkeeper updated that they were not coming. Time was rapidly running out now and having failed to flag down a lift for the 10 minute journey I had to accept the inevitable - I was not getting the 14:51 train from Dobrljin and I wasn't going to make my hotel in Doboj tonight. Time to return to the supermarket with its WiFi enabled cafe to get on to booking.com and devise a 'Plan B'!
'Plan B' would get me to Banja Luca, the largest city and de-facto capital of the Republika Srpska tonight by way of that 18:00 bus. The bus itself called at Banja Luka on the way to Belgrade, but would also get me back on tack (literally) connecting into the evening train from Dobrljin. I only had a few hours to kill so wandered the short length of the town and settled down to write my journal over a couple of beers.
I really didn't want to miss the bus so quite unusually allowed ample time in case it was early. A minibus was already parked up for Belgrade- a good sign, however the driver informed me that this was not the 18:00 bus, but the 18:30 (the timetable I had finally found online showed both). More of a problem was the drivers information that there was not an 18:00 bus, and of course the 18:30 would miss the train! Since both buses were operated by different companies there was no harm in waiting just in caset he 18:00 did show up- which it didn't. The minibus had also now parked up and the driver appeared to have gone home. Having now given up upon the train and re-arranged hotels I just wanted to get out of Kostajnica!
During the wait the helpful lady from earlier passed and was surprised to see I was still in town, then at about 18:15 a young lad who spoke English also turned up for the bus - it was very reassuring to now not be the only person waiting for it! His name was Boyan and he was travelling to Banja Luka where he was studying physiotherapy. 'The bus comes every day' he assured me, and when 18:30 came and went his lack of concern at the delay was calming- I would have been starting to panic if it was still just me at the bus stop!
The bus did turn up (and wasn't the minibus at all) and in all honesty was probably much nicer than the train. Boyan and I boarded and purchased our tickets on board- he got only slightly offended when I turned down his offer of coffee at our mid-point stop (coffee is big in Bosnia and I don't drink it!) and an uneventful journey in the dark to Banja Luka ensued. Parting, I was offered help to find a taxi and welcomed for a drink the next day at the Marriot Hotel where Boyan worked, 'if I had time'. My throughs were unsurprisingly on the trains - we had beaten my 'Plan B' train to Banja Luka and since the bus and railway stations were close by I could at least see it arrive.
The station building was large, dark and deserted- but open, and to it's credit boasted such luxuries as a working departures and arrivals screen. there were two arrivals due; 'my' train from Dobrljin and also one from Doboj. Busy times for a station that sees just 6 arrivals a day. Not being on the train did allow me to get some better pictures of the arrival since the staff wever very quick to remove the loco to the nearby depot. The Dobrljin train was a class 441 electric with one coach, while the subsequent train from Doboj had the luxury of two. Locos now on shed it was time for me to do the same and find my way on foot to my accommodation.
Rail moves:
11:03 Zagreb - Novak (to Sisak) - EMU 112 003
Thursday 8th February:
My change of schedule the previous day left me with a lot more free time in Banja Luka than I had intended. It should have been roughly 2 hours between trains, but now I had the best part of the day, as with no connection out of Doboj until the following morning there was no point getting there early and there was a 9 hour gap in the service during the middle of the day anyway. I found the city to be much more pleasant and interesting than I was expecting, and after going for a run, exploring on foot and visiting the castle I returned to my accommodation to pick up my things before walking to the station for the 15:26 train to Doboj.
On arrival at Banja Luka station there was a nice surprise- I could see the distinctive shape of a class 661 'Kennedy' diesel loco in the platform. After a grab shot of the station, this time in daylight, I went over to photograph the diesel, unfortunately with a shadow right across the front of it. Tough luck- but then what looked like it might just be a driver wandered over from the depot- The loco was started up and promptly moved off, out of the shadow, and round to the yard behind the station. With just 20 minutes until my trains departure, obviously, I followed.
10 minutes later I arrived back on the platform, content with a handful of lovely 'Kennedy' shots which had been taken while it shunted the scrap terminal. I arrived straight into the guard who approached me. I was half expected a telling-off for wandering all over the tracks, but instead I was greeted as a friend- My Bosnian colleague from work back in the UK had called ahead and all of the staff knew about my journey- even if the language barrier meant they couldn't communicate much! The train was formed of 441 524 and a solitary coach. On the same platform 441 801 was also waiting with two coaches for Dobrljin.
The train was rather full when it left, and after depositing my bag in a luggage rack I took up a spot in the corridor enjoying the fresh air and Bosnian scenery from the window. After the train emptied a bit there was then room to join my bag in a compartment. Around half way through the journey the guard summoned me- not a ticket check, but a prompt that someone was on the platform with a 'gift' for us- again by arrangement of my colleague one of his friends had turned up with a beer supply! Two for me and two for the guard were passed through the open window. All four were consumed during the next leg of the journey through to Doboj, the guard beckoning me to join his compartment where an off-duty police officer was also enjoying a cigarette- a far cry from the somewhat sterile trains of western Europe (and I'm not saying better!).
The sun set as we continued towards Doboj, arriving at dusk. I was quickly distracted by another 'Kennedy' with 661 322 sitting in the yard ready to go on a coal train. After some photos of my train, which had already run around I left the smokey station and crossed over the Bosna river and walked the 20 minutes or so into town to my hotel. Later in the evening I popped back to the station to view the train to Petrovo Novo, the only other current destination from Doboj aside from Banja Luka. Petrovo Novo lies on the diesel line east towards Tuzla which had a passenger service throughout until recently- now the two car Fiat class 813 unit stops at the last station in the Republika Srpska before the line crosses the unmarked border into the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina. Like the former Tuzla service, I understand this can occasionally drop a loco and coach(es), with a steam heat 'Kennedy' in charge of course. Just on the off-chance I had checked that a return journey was possible, but of course it was 813 043 and trailer 814 043 doing the honours. After a final look at the pile of coal fuel for the station it was time for some food and to retire for the night.
Rail moves:
15:24 Banja Luka - Doboj - 411 524
Friday 9th February:
As I mentioned earlier there is not currently any passenger service between the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina since the withdrawal of both the Tuzla service and the through train from Sarajevo to Zagreb- therefore this morning would start with another trip by taxi.
I had booked an 05:15 pick up from the hotel the night before and was reassured to see it waiting for me. It was only around 20 marks and about 30 minutes to reach the station at Maglaj, from where there is a daily ZFBH train at 06:01 to Sarajevo. I could not find anywhere to buy a ticket, and the station was in almost total darkness- but fortunately 441 904 was waiting on stock in platform. I wasn't sure what sort of stock this train would be, I had hoped loco hauled, but wasn't sure if I should be expecting modern Talgo stock, or the more traditional second-hand coaches from either Germany or Sweden. As it happens I was in luck, with two of the attractive former Swedish coaches in use. I found a compartment in the dark and settled in.
Departure was roughly on time and the guard came round to sell tickets, mine costing around 6 marks. The line was clearly scenic following the twists of the Bosna river, but since it was still dark I could not see a lot. We paused at the industrial town of Zenica, now in daylight, where we met another train, one of the few remaining EMU's of class 411 built for JZ in 1976. Leaving this grim industrial town behind we continued to the run down station of Sarajevo, the train now filling up considerably.
Sarajevo station is not what the western European would consider befitting of a capital city. The platforms are run down and train information is nowhere to be seen. There are significant periods of no activity here, but right now two trains occupy the platforms with both my arrival and also a Talgo set who's loco is running around to push back into the carriage sidings beyond the station. The booking hall itself is a master of brutalist architecture which I photograph despite signs warning not to.
24 hours late I have made it to Sarajevo, largely by train as far as was possible. Yes- I could have flown in a few hours, but where would the fun and adventure be in that? I chose to take a taxi to my guesthouse, time was running short and the branch of the tram which goes to Sarajevo station is still being dug up- part of a large ongoing project to upgrade the tram which, aside from this section, seems relatively complete.
Rail moves:
06:01 Maglaj - Sarajevo - 411 904
Postscript:
I enjoyed the journey despite its challenges. If you are thinking of doing something similar I would not recommend going via Hrvatska Kostajnica due to the issues of no transport between the border town and Dobrljin (unless you simply take a taxi right through over the border?). There did appear to be a bus from Sisak to Novi Grad, the next border crossing, at 13:00 which would have likely made the train there (5 stops on from Dobrljin).
Train times in Bosnia are available with a bit of searching on both the ZRS (Republika Srpska Railways) and ZFBH (Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina Railways). I have reproduced the timetable for the journey in my direction from ZRS below.
Dobrljin dep: 06:42 14:56 18:40
Novi Grad dep: 04:32 07:03 15:15 19:00
Banja Luka arr: 06:33 09:14 17:20 21:14
Train 6405 6407
Banja Luka dep: 04:39 07:26 15:26 19:30
Doboj arr: 06:38 09:21 17:21 21:38
Train schedules are very limited across the country. Buses are often available which are more frequent and more comfortable- but information on these seems even more difficult to find!
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