Za uradni začetek železnice velja 2. junij 1846, ko je bila odprta železniška proga Gradec─Celje in je prvič zapeljal vlak po slovenskih tleh.
For the official start of the railways on February 2, 1846, the Gradec─Celje railway was opened and a train ran on Slovenian soil for the first time.
Toda že leta 1820 je bila za potrebe gozdarstva v okolici Idrije zgrajena Gozdna železnica - lauf. Zaradi strateškega položaja je bila Slovenija v sklopu Avstrije zmeraj prometno zelo pomembna in tako je bila med letoma 1841 in 1857 zgrajena tudi Južna železnica (SStB), ki je povezovala Dunaj s Trstom.
But as early as 1820, the cauf forest railway was built in the vicinity of Idrija for the needs of forestry. Due to its strategic position, Slovenia has always been very important for traffic within Austria, and between 1841 and 1857 the Southern Railway (abbreviation SStB) was built, connecting the capital Vienna with Trieste.
Za ohranjanje zgodovine skrbi Železniški muzej v Ljubljani.
The preservation of history is taken care of by the Railway Museum in Ljubljana.
Odsek Ljubljana–Trst
Terenske razmere za progo Ljubljana–Trst so proučevali že od leta 1842. Teren je bil težaven zaradi Ljubljanskega barja, kraških značilnosti (jame, kotline, podzemeljske vode ...), nazadnje pa je bil tu še neizogiben spust do morja. Nastalo je več variant poteka proge. Sprva so preučevali možnosti, da bi se izognili barju. Ena od različic je predvidevala, da bi proga tekla najprej po Gorenjski, nato po Poljski dolini do Žirov, skozi predor v dolino Idrijce in ob njenem toku do Soči ter naprej do morja. Po temeljitemu premisleku in primerjanju soške in kraške proge so se v Ljubljani leta 1849 pod vodstvom Carla Ghege odločili za kraško varianto. Iz primerjave prog, ki so jo pozneje objavili v časniku Austria lahko povzamemo, da je bila kraška proga za 6 milj krajša od soške in trdili so tudi, da bo cenejša, ter da bo zgrajena dve do tri leta prej kot soška. Toda tudi kraška proga je imela nekaj šibkih točk – Ljubljansko barje, pomanjkanje površinske tekoče vode, nevarnost burja in snežnih zametov. Popolno neznanko je predstavljalo Ljubljansko barje, zaradi česar so se povečali gradbeni stroški in čas. Najprej so sondirali teren, nato pa so pričeli z odvodnjavanjem barja. Več kot tri leta so zasipali močvirje in gradili nasipe.
Terrain conditions for the Ljubljana–Trieste route have been studied since 1842. The terrain was difficult due to the Ljubljana Marshes, karst characteristics (caves, basins, groundwater ...), and finally there was the inevitable descent to the sea. Several variants of the route were created. Initially, options were explored to avoid the swamp. One of the versions foresaw that the line would run first along the Gorenjska, then along the Poljanska valley to Žirov, through a tunnel into the Idrijca valley and along its course to the Soča and on to the sea. After thorough consideration and comparison of the Isonzo and Karst routes, in 1849, under the leadership of Carl Ghega, they decided on a karst variant. From the comparison of the lines, which was later published in the newspaper Austria, we can conclude that the karst line was 6 miles shorter than the Isonzo and they also claimed that it would be cheaper and that it would be built two to three years earlier than the Isonzo. But the karst line also had some weak points - the Ljubljana Marshes, the lack of surface running water, the danger of bora and snowdrifts. The Ljubljana Marshes were a complete unknown, which increased construction costs and time. They first probed the terrain and then began draining the bog. For more than three years, they filled up the swamps and built embankments.
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