#334 Skopje - Belgrade & #414 Belgrade - (Zagreb) - Ljubljana

[itfcfan]

I'm planning to take the following trains in a couple of weeks (over the weekend of Orthodox Easter):

#334 Skopje - Belgrade (dep 22:19, arr 07:42)
Vagonweb 334

#414 Belgrade - (Zagreb) - Ljubljana (dep 11:00, arr 20:56)
Vagonweb 414

For Skopje - Belgrade (the "Hellas Express", intended to be a through train from Thessaloniki) - I understand the train is now starting from Gevgelija on the Greece/Macedonia border due to the refugee crisis, so apart from missing some carriages from Greece, the train is running unaltered between Skopje and Belgrade. If anyone has information to the contrary, please let me know! I understand some couchettes are available on this route, but again if anyone knows anything to the contrary (some sleeper carriages are shown as "runs as needed" on the links above - it'd be wonderful if the Orthodox Easter weekend provided strong enough demand to run these carriages, but no so strong that I can't get a ticket!)

For Belgrade - Ljubljana, Vagonweb shows only open-plan 2nd class carriages as running all the way through. Anyone know any better?

I've had a few journeys in the past travelling on Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Bosnian and Turkish trains - including two instances of a train missing its own connection in Bulgaria (i.e. the through carriage I was on, arrived too late to be connected to the train it was meant to be joining). So, I have realistic expectations for the region, but some trains are better than others! I thought I'd see in advance if anyone on the forums has taken these trains recently...

 

[87015]

There was a message recently to the effect the Skopje service does not run south of NIS with passengers expected to take service buses - there is no ZS / MZ replacement. I'd triple check.
Thessaloniki-Sofia should still be running, have seen pics of it within the last week or so.

Yes the Belgrade portion of that service through to Ljubljana is a couple of Serbia's "finest" EC opens, although one is quite often a declassified FO in my experience. Croat stock may be added at Vincovki, then beds at Zagreb.

 

[itfcfan]

There was a message recently to the effect the Skopje service does not run south of NIS with passengers expected to take service buses - there is no ZS / MZ replacement. I'd triple check.

Thanks so much for the info 87015. As you say, it looks like there may be engineering works south of Nis which have taken effect in the last month. I'll look into that further...

 

[reb0118]

There's a link on www.seat61.com here.

 

[itfcfan]

Thanks reb0118.

From what I've been told by a Serbian booking agency, the line is out of action between 18th April - 18th June.

 

[TCDD]

I travelled on that train between Belgrade and Zagreb last August. Stock was indeed the Serbian equivalent of Mark 3s from Belgrade to the Border, with croatian coaches (with toilet paper!) added at the border. There was also a Serbian restaurant car with schnitzel and chips. I think this just turns up on random days and thus seat61 makes no mention of it.