The European Capital of Culture by train

The blue-green European Capital of Culture passenger wagon, which was presented today at the press conference, was created in cooperation between Slovenian Railways and the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica-Gorizia. Together, we have created an interesting mobile unit that functions as a wagon, as a narrative of the European Capital of Culture, and as a reminder of the eco-friendly mobility. It will make possible to travel between Nova Gorica and Most na Soči, and between Most na Soči and Bohinjska Bistrica.

The agreement with Slovenian Railways binds us in the desire to promote a sustainable way of getting to the European Capital of Culture events that will take place in Goriška in 2025. The renewed carriage with the GO! 2025 branding and contents will be included in a comprehensive promotional campaign on the Bohinj railway. The train is not only a movable advertisement of the ECoC, but also a movable stage, as the press conference demonstrated thanks to the members of Teater na konfini, who are participating in the official ECoC programme as part of the project Community Stages and Galleries.

The six compartments present through photographs and words some of the protagonists of the official programme of the European Capital of Culture: the architects Edvard Ravnikar and Vojteh Ravnikar, the painter Zoran Mušič and the psychiatrist Franco Basaglia, the pianist Alexander Gadjiev and the film director Tomi Janežič, the dancers Nastja Bremec Rynia and Michal Rynia, and the fashion designer Matea Benedetti.

The train and the railway also give a special significance to the European Capital of Culture: in fact, the opening ceremony will take place between the two railway stations, one in Gorizia and the other in Nova Gorica. By train, we will pass the EPIC platform (European Platform for the Interpretation of the Century), which will be built right next to the railway station. Then we will take the scenic Bohinj railway along the Soča River, where the ISOlabs science-art project by Marko Peljhan will be taking place. And if we get off at Bled, there will be a brand-new contemporary museum waiting for us, with the story of the painter Zoran Mušič as its backdrop. Trains will take us on a journey across Europe with the Think Tank train project.