I Rode Slovenia's FLAGSHIP Train in FIRST CLASS!

Today we're travelling across Slovenia on the country's fastest and most iconic train. We'll be riding in first class on board this Pendolino sweeping through the stunning Slovenian landscapes from the capital to the country's second city. But what is Slovenia's flagship train actually like? Let's find out on another epic non-stop Eurotrip. This journey starts in Ljubljana. The Slovenian capital is home to 300,000 people and is a hidden gem within Europe in my opinion. There is so much history and beauty here and I would really recommend adding it to your travel bucket list. Okay, to the station. Ljubljana's main railway station is just 600 metres north of the city centre and is easily walkable in just over five minutes. The local bus and long distance coach station is here too. Well, it's just these parking bays out the front of the main building. Let's head inside now. The large staff ticket office is off to the left hand side here. Opposite this is a very posh McDonald's. And then heading through towards the platforms there is a small convenience store on the left and the station cafe and bar on the right. Out here are a few automatic ticket machines or you can also buy on the Slovenska Želidnicka app. Our train today is the ICS 20 service to Maribor which departs at 3.15pm from platform 6. Slovenian railways have invested heavily in recent years in new rolling stock from Swiss company Stadler such as these FLIRT EMUs. They also have double deck KISS EMUs which we'll see shortly. The far platforms can be accessed by this central underground walkway. Renovations are currently underway and not every platform has a proper lift yet but wheelchair stairlifts are available. Speak to station staff. Otherwise you'll need to ascend the stairs. Our train today is this three car SZ Pendolino tilting EMU. These have a maximum speed of 200km per hour but only run in service at up to 160km per hour. Let's check out today's route. We will depart Ljubljana and head east and then north making three intermediate stops before arriving in Maribor. Boarding is not level with the platform but a ramp is available on request. We will be in first class today which takes up half of one of the three coaches. This is laid out in a 2 plus 1 configuration. Departure is right on time at 3.15pm. This service's name ICS stands for Intercity Slovenia and is the country's premium train service. The route from Ljubljana to Maribor covers 156km in distance which is scheduled to take us one hour and 52 minutes of travel time. Here we see one of the aforementioned Stadler Kiss double-decker trains. All on-board announcements are made in Slovenian only. An adult first class ticket costs €23.60 while in second class it's €16.40. All prices are fixed and are not dynamic, however there are special weekend tickets which save 25% on the full fare. The discounts available for children and youths can be seen on screen now. ESED has three of these Pendolino trainsets which entered service in the year 2000. They are currently undergoing a mid-life refurbishment program so these ICS services are periodically swapped out for the Stadler Flirts until this has been completed. As we head out into the Slovenian countryside let me take a moment to tell you about today's video sponsor Mantasleep. When you are on the go as much as I am it's sometimes difficult to get in a full night's sleep or it's been such a busy day filming that I just need a quick 20 minute nap. That's why I've been using Mantasleep and their excellent selection of high quality sleep masks for the past few years now and they are honestly a game changer for me. 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Okay time to have a look at the I must say they do look good. They are leather trimmed and have good padding on both the base and back along with a slightly winged headrest and soft head cushion. The armrests are also adjustable and padded. They can be reclined a little bit by lifting this lever and sliding the base forwards. This old entertainment system is now defunct. The bay seats have a large expandable table in between them with a small litter bin next to the windows. There are standard 220 volt European power sockets located under the table. Coat hooks can be found on the wall with reading lights on the underside of the luggage rack. The windows feature electronically operated sun blinds which gives a very premium feel. Overall I think this is a great first class product. Super comfortable and with all the amenities you could need for this two-hour journey across Slovenia. Note there is no complimentary service included it's just the seat upgrade that you are getting. Free wi-fi is available for all passengers on board. This was very easy to connect to and while not fast it did the job for web browsing and messaging. Okay let's go and check out the rest of the train now. As mentioned first class takes up half of one coach with the other half being second class. This is laid out in a two plus two configuration. The seats are similar to mine but a cloth and have a reduced width and legroom. There are also some airline style pairs which have footrests and tray tables. Everything else is the same except there are no power sockets. Hopefully the refurbishment will address this. Next we find the buffet counter. This was not in use this service but there were menus and a few items still lying around. Does anyone know if these are still regularly used? Just beyond this are the train's two wheelchair spaces with accompanying companion seats. The accessible toilet is in the adjacent vestibule. This was spacious, pretty clean and fully stocked up. The two other regular toilets were much smaller as you'd expect. However in this one everything worked as intended and the soap, hand towels and toilet roll were all available. Again it was pretty clean too. We are now running alongside the river Sava in the gorge of the same name. This is the river Danube's longest tributary with a total length of 990 kilometres. They eventually join in Belgrade, Serbia. This is also where you will find the best train window views on the trip. Did you know that Slovenia is the fourth most forested country in Europe with 61% of its total land area covered by trees? Take a look here as we round the tight curves and you can see the Pendolino train set tilting into the bends to improve passenger comfort. This also allows for quicker overall travel times with up to 35% faster cornering speeds with a maximum tilt angle of 8 degrees. Our first intermediate stop today is at Zadani Most. This is in the small village of the same name which mostly serves as an important junction station where the lines head southeast to the Croatian border and Zagreb and north to the Austrian border and Graz, the direction which we will be heading. It also lies at the confluence of the Sava and Slovenia rivers which we cross shortly after departure. This is a heavily used trunk line too for freight services between the three countries and beyond. Despite their age these Pendolino train sets are still very popular in Europe with versions still operating in Italy, Finland, Spain, Greece and the Czech Republic. They have also been superseded by a new Pendolino model from 2008 onwards such as this Polish one seen here. These even operate as far away as China. We are now on the approach to Selje. This is Slovenia's third largest city which has a population of 50,000 people in the municipality. I found the ride quality to be pretty good on board these trains on the whole. In theory they have a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour however the maximum line speed anywhere in Slovenia is 160 kilometers per hour. Most of the time today though we travel at around 140 kilometers per hour. We are now coming up to the final intermediate stop on the route, this being the village of Pragersko. This is another important junction station where just after another line diverges right to Slovenia's eastern border with northern Croatia. As we are now approaching the end of today's trip let me summarize this journey with Slovenska Zelenička on board their flagship Pendolino trains from Ljubljana to Maribor in first class. Overall I think these are great trains, comfortable in both classes and with good on-board amenities for the sub-two-hour routes that they serve within Slovenia. The tickets are good value and for quarter-century-old trains they're in great condition still. I can't wait to come back and check out the refurbished versions once this has been completed. After crossing over the river Drava we arrive in Maribor a couple of minutes early at 5.05 pm. Have you been on any trains in Slovenia before? If so which ones and on which routes? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments below. I'm always open to new video ideas so if you have something you'd like to see on the channel then drop me a DM on Instagram, BlueSky or Twitter. Don't forget to subscribe, thanks for watching to the end and I'll see you in the next video!