Montenegro

The Country

Macedonia is renowned for its natural beauty and a train journey through the country is certainly worth the while. Using the overnight Beograd (Serbia) to Bar (Montenegro) service is a winner in both directions; entering Montenegro in a morning you’re treated to the morning atmosphere as you wake in the mountains, literally in the clouds, that separate the two countries and then in the evening as you head out the spectacular scenery is topped by a great sunset.

Train Travel

Zeljeznica Crne Gore a.d. Podgorica (ZCG) operate the national rail service, throughout Montenegro; also offering cross border trains to/from Serbia. You can use the ZCG online timetable for train times. Alternatively ZCG local train departures are listed by station online, as are international train departures.

A comprehensive list of both passenger and freight operators in Montenegro can be found on the helpful Railfan Europe website’s Montenegro page.

Train times and Tickets

Booking tickets for travel within Montenegro can be done at most ZCG stations, otherwise tickets are purchased on board trains. Tickets are not available online. If you only require reservations for either Interrail, Eurail or railway staff passes then this can be done via phone to the DB office in London.

On some occasions the DB office in London can’t access the system to allow them to book reservations in advance but if you require reservations on the Beograd to Bar trains in either direction, or any other train involving Beograd, then travel agent Wasteels at Beograd can do your reservations. The very helpful Mr Popovic met us at Beograd station 30 minutes before the departure of our train and handed us our tickets in person. Contact Wasteels at: wasteels@eunet.rs

If choosing to use an Interrail pass, either for just within Montenegro, or to pass through Montenegro, all the relevant details on the passes, including the different types/lengths of validity available, can be found on the InterRail website.

For those travelling from outside Europe then the Eurail Pass is your ticket to Europe, details of which can be found on EU Rail’s website.

Also available for travel in Montenegro is the Balkan Flexi Pass which is valid in Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey & Bosnia. Periods of validity range from 5, 7, 10 or 15 days in 1 month but there is a limitation in that if you buy the pass inMontenegro it is only valid in Montenegro for one return journey to/from the border; this is the same whichever country you buy it in!

Finally travel in Europe can be made a lot simpler by using the very, very, helpful smartphone app courtesy of Eurail. This app is available both online and offline and is always up to date (well it has been for the countries I’ve used it in; including for any planned engineering works); for me it was an essential part of my travel in Europe. This app is linked to the Hafas system, which countries like Germany, Austria & Switzerland use for their train planning online tool. Eurail has done what the individual countries haven’t though and made it available offline.

For the Rail Enthusiast

A comprehensive list of Montenegro Locomotives by their respective railway system can be found on the Railfaneurope website’s Montenegro page. This also explains a bit the various operators of the network and how they have amalgamated over the years.

A detailed map/atlas of the South East Europe & Turkey Railway Systems, which includes Montenegro, is available from European Railway Atlas.

ZCG Route Km’s are listed in its Network Statement; starting on page 65 of the document.