The Railway Workers’ Day of Yugoslavia was established in 1950, and the occasion was the general strike of railway workers of the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During the nights between April 15 and 16, 1920, railway traffic across the entire country came to a halt and remained so until the end of that month. Railway workers from Užice, Sarajevo, Skopje, Niš, Subotica, and all railway stations, locomotive depots, and workshops rose up against violence. The bloodiest scene was on Zaloška Street in Ljubljana, where 14 protesters, including nine striking railway workers, were killed. Continuously from 1950 up to 1991/92, the workers on Yugoslav railways celebrated this day both ceremoniously and workingly, recalling many events of the growth and maturing of the workers’ movement and everything that led to the historic general strike. Yugoslavia was “twice a state.” From 1945, it experienced its new socio-political life and enjoyed worldwide recognition as a stable and prosperous (people’s) socialist federation. The disintegration of the new Yugoslavia began in 1991/92, with the main reasons often emphasized as the significant historical-political contradictions among Yugoslav nations and the confederal incentives of party autocracies to disintegrate the country. During this time, the process of disunion began. Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia (1991), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992) declared independence and received recognition from the international community. In effect, they took with them that portion of assets and rights that they had contributed by joining (the former) union. An important date, such as April 15, Railway Workers’ Day, was celebrated in socialist Yugoslavia. Today, in 2014, what remains of this tradition?
– In Slovenia, Railway Workers’ Day is celebrated on June 2nd, in memory of the arrival of the first train on Slovenian territory in 1846, with the launch of the Graz – Celje railway line. – Serbian Railways commemorates its 130th anniversary and Railway Workers’ Day on September 15th, 2014. On that day in 1884, the first railway line built in Serbia, between Belgrade and Niš, was put into operation. – Croatian Railways’ Day is observed on October 5th in memory of the decision made by the Croatian Parliament on October 5th, 1990, which established Croatian Railways and, for the first time, organized all railway lines within Croatia under unified management. – Macedonian Railways celebrates April 9th, as on that day in 1873, the first train arrived from Thessaloniki to Veles. – Montenegrin Railways celebrate their day on September 13th, the day when, in 1908, the first locomotive with a train arrived from Bar to Virpazar. – Railway traffic in Bosnia and Herzegovina is operated by two public companies: Željeznice Federacije BiH (ŽFBH), based in Sarajevo, and Željeznice Republike Srpske (ŽRS), based in Banja Luka. – Railway workers of Željeznice Republike Srpske celebrated September 15th, Yugoslav Railways Day, from 1992 (when ŽRS was founded on May 12th, 1992) until 2001. Since 2001, Railway Workers’ Day has been celebrated on May 12th (the day of founding) and also as the Slava of Saint Basil of Ostrog. – The Railways of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ŽBH) was established on June 10th, 1992. In early 2002, by decision of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina government, Željeznice BiH (ŽBH) and Željeznice Herceg-Bosne (ŽHB) were merged to form Željeznice Federacije BiH (ŽFBH). Practically, the Day of the Federation of BiH Railways exists only in the agendas of business partners for greetings but is not celebrated publicly. Railway Workers’ Day (April 15th) is traditionally celebrated organized by “real old railway workers” in the form of trips and gatherings with homemade food and drinks.
I wish all railway workers in the region of the former Yugoslavia a: Happy Railway Workers’ Day, Happy Railway Workers’ Day, Happy Railway Workers’ Day, Happy Railway Workers’ Day, Cheers to Railway Workers, Happy Railway Men’s Day, Happy Tagon Railwaymen, Happy Railway Workers’ Day…
A brief overview regarding the organized general strike on April 15, 1920, can be read by clicking on the PDF document: [https://vremeplov.ba/2025/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Strajk-15.April_.pdf]
