Željeznice Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine (ŽFBH) is the railway company of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the country of the same name. Alongside it, the country also has Željeznice Republike Srpske (ŽRS), the railway operator of the Republika Srpska Federation. ŽFBH currently operates only a few connections on its 608 km rail network, and only on part of its network.

Summary

  • Only FIP discounted tickets are accepted; there are no FIP Coupons.
  • FIP tickets are sold only on-site and are not always guaranteed.

Validity of FIP Tickets

Validity FIP Reduced Ticket

Railway companies typically offer a discount with FIP, also known as FIP50 or FIP75. The discount is usually 50 %, sometimes 75 %. To find out what discount applies to you, first select the issuer of your FIP Card. You can find an overview of all discounts in the FIP Application.

Please select a FIP Card issuer first.

FIP 50 Tickets are valid on ŽFBH services. For cross-border journeys to Croatia, either a through FIP 50 Ticket or an FIP 50 Ticket to the Croatian border and an FIP Coupon of HŽ is required. For journeys across the entity border (currently not available), either a through FIP 50 Ticket or an FIP 50 Ticket to the entity border and an FIP Coupon of ŽRS would be required.

Train Categories and Reservations

Important Information

The currently operating trains and their restrictions on specific operating days are available on the ŽFBH Website. The train category “Brzi” is translated here as “Fast train” and “Putnički” as “Local train”.

Brzi (B)

FIP accepted

National and international fast trains to Croatia, which run comparatively quickly with few stops within Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Croatian Ploče. On the Sarajevo – Mostar – Čapljina (– Ploče) route, modern Talgo cars are used; on the other route, Sarajevo – Maglaj, considerably older passenger cars are possible.

Reservations

At present, we do not know whether reservations are offered and whether they are compulsory. As tickets are sold only by staff at counters, there is no risk of accidentally travelling without a reservation.

Putnički (P)

FIP accepted No reservation possible
Regional trains that cover short distances around the capital Sarajevo with all intermediate stops.

Ticket and Reservation Purchase

Personal Tip

A price list with the FIP 50 fares from April 2026 is available in the FIP Guide Community.

On-Site

ŽFBH Ticket Office

FIP 50 Tickets

Ticket offices of the ŽFBH are only found at the most important stations. A list of the ticket offices is available at the bottom of the ŽFBH website.

Unofficial Information
At some ticket offices, tickets may only be paid for in cash.
FIP 50 Tickets

At the ŽFBH ticket office, FIP 50 tickets can be purchased for journeys on trains operated by ŽFBH within Bosnia and Herzegovina and for journeys to Croatian Ploče.

Unofficial Information

FIP is not always known on-site and some tickets are sometimes issued with other discounts. 1

On the Train

National FIP Tickets can only be purchased on the train if boarding takes place at a station without a ticket office or with a closed ticket office. Alternatively, this also applies if entry is from another country and the onward journey continues in the same train.2

Discounts

Children up to and including 3 years travel free of charge if they do not require an extra seat. Children under 12 years receive a 50% discount on the regular fare regardless of FIP.3 An overview of all discounts outside FIP can be found on the ŽFBH Website.

Personal Tip

For travellers crossing several Balkan countries, the Balkan Flexipass may be worthwhile. It allows unlimited travel on the rail networks of:

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (ŽFBH, ŽRS),
  • Bulgaria (BDŽ),
  • North Macedonia (MŽ-Transport),
  • Greece (HT & Attica),
  • Montenegro (ŽPCG),
  • Romania (CFR Calatori & Regiotrans),
  • Serbia (SV),
  • Turkey (TCDD).

Further information on the ŽPCG website

Special Tariff Conditions

Rail Replacement Services

FIP discounts apply on rail replacement buses if they replace a train on which FIP would have been valid.2

Recommendations

Personal Tip

The ŽFBH operates only a few trains on only a small number of lines in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One highlight is certainly the journey in the Talgo train on the Sarajevo–Mostar line, which is one of the most beautiful railway lines in Europe. This means that the two most touristy cities in the country are connected by rail at least three times a day. The continuation to Croatian Ploče is also worth considering, as the place is only accessible by rail from Bosnia and Herzegovina and is not connected to the rest of the Croatian rail network.

Unfortunately, no inter-entity trains are currently offered and the timetable within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is also very poor. For example, the regional train between Sarajevo and Zenica has no connection to the regional train to Maglaj.

Sources