Slovakia has 3,657 km of railway lines of which 1,558 km (43%) are electrified. Although the density of the network is high from a European perspective, there is a need for renewal and maintenance of the Slovak rail infrastructure. The owner of the Slovak railways is the State. The two State-owned companies, ŽSR (the Railway Infrastructure Manager of the Republic of Slovakia) and ZSSK (the Railway Passenger Transport Company) are responsible for the administration of the railway infrastructure and the operation of passenger-transport respectively. ZSSK Cargo provides the rail freight transport services.
The geographic position of Slovakia in Europe confirms the current importance of the position of railway lines of Slovakia in the Europe-wide transport infrastructure. The main international railway links have a direct connection to the railway routes of Slovakia.
The current state of the railway network clearly suffers from a lack of investment in the past decades and does not yet meet the modern required standards.
The backbone railway network of Slovakia is a triangle, the frame of which comprises the lines: Košice – Žilina, Žilina – Bratislava and Bratislava – Zvolen – Košice. Other lines are additional or connecting basic corridors, local lines and regional lines. According to the international agreements the following lines in Slovakia are included in the network of European railway lines: C – E40, C – E52, C – E61 and C – E63 with a total length of 837 km. Together these lines represent 22.8 % of the total length of railway lines, but reflect approximately 75 % of journey kilometres.
In the long run, ŽSR is interested in reducing the negative impact of non-electrified lines on the environment. The electrification project on the railway section Haniska pri Košiciach – Moldava nad Bodvou will be implemented by 2020 and the electrification on the railway section Zvolen – Fiľakovo will be finished by 2018.
The aforementioned projects and plans are closely linked with the possibilities of support from the state budget and EU funds.
The basis for establishing a common European railway transport market is securing interoperability of the trans-European railway system under the technical specifications for interoperability on the tracks of Railways of the Slovak Republic (ŽSR) in a manner that would enable the train sets to move within EU without technological barriers. The technical specifications for interoperability should be followed in accordance with the decisions made at EU level, thus gradually removing the heterogeneity of the existing EU railway system. In order to establish a common European internal market in railway transport it is necessary to direct all activities to securing international passenger and freight transport liberalisation and improving the quality of the services offered.
In 2015, the European Commission approved three major projects, for a total of EUR 170 million from EU funds, for the modernisation of the Púchov – Žilina railway line.
The railway modernisation is part of the planned upgrading of the Bratislava – Žilina railway track, which is a TEN-T Core network, and will allow trains to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h. It also includes the reconstruction of the Bytča station and installation of new signalling systems.
The project is co-financed under the Slovak “Transport Operational Programme” under Priority Axes 1 “Railway Transport”. The co-financing decision for this project falls under the programming period 2007-2013. Slovakia has been allocated approximately EUR 11.7 billion in Cohesion policy funding for 2007-2013 and EUR 14 billion for 2014-2020.
Gradual modernisation and development on the TEN-T included sections:
• Bratislava–Žilina–Cierna nad Tisou–state border SR/Ukraine, with priority to modernize Žilina–Nové Mesto nad Váhom line section (corridor V)
• Poland/SR state border–Skalité–Cadca–Žilina (corridor VI)
• Austria (Vienna)/state border of SR–Bratislava – cross-border section
• Czech Republic/SR state border Kúty–Bratislava–Štúrovo–SR/Hungary state border (corridor IV)
• Modernise and develop the railway line Plavec–Prešov–Kysak–Košice–Cana
• Support for the implementation of electric traction mainly in urban-suburb railway transport to and from regional centres
• Connection of the Bratislava Airport and Košice Airport to the TEN-T rail network.
Rail track modernisation must secure the achievement of standards defined in international agreements, the interoperability of modernised, prepared and constructed new line sections of TEN-T network.
It should also increase the line speed on conventional railway lines to 160 km/h (with option for tilting trains to operate at speeds up to 200 km/h) and with selected freight trains to 120 km/h with electric traction.
“The route section between Bratislava-Rača and Žilina on the ŽSR lines is in the process of modernisation, which includes upgrading of tracks and the safety installation within the frame of which, level 1 of the ETCS system on the pilot section between Bratislava-Rača and Nové Mesto nad Váhom was build.” The described pilot line section corresponds to the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor.
According to the Integrated Infrastructure Operational Programme in Slovakia, it will substantially contribute to promoting the key EU and national development priorities as:
• “Railway Infrastructure (TEN-T Core) and Rolling Stock Renewal” (Cohesion Fund – 18% of the EU allocation): projects related to the modernisation and development of rail transport infrastructure on those railway lines which are of crucial importance for economic growth and improvement of the mobility of the Slovak and EU population.
• “Public Passenger Transport” (Cohesion Fund – 8% of the EU allocation): providing support to public transport in major cities in Slovakia.
• “Railway Infrastructure (other than TEN-T Core)” (ERDF – 7% of the EU allocation): modernising rail transport infrastructure outside TEN-T corridors.
This October, the European Commission adopted the 2014-2020 cross border cooperation programme between Slovakia and Hungary. With a total budget of EUR 172 million, with EUR 146 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the programme aims to boost employment, promote sustainable tourism and improve mobility in investing in public transport and new connections in the Hungarian-Slovak border region.
The cooperation aims to enhance the internal connectivity of the region as a unique and integrated economic space, by providing better access to the TEN-T network and by promoting environmental-friendly regional public transport and logistics systems.
Corina Creţu, Commissioner for Regional Policy said: “I am pleased to adopt this programme benefiting the border regions of Hungary and Slovakia; the two countries will be able to increase their cooperation in key growth generating areas such as tourism or sustainable transport.”
by Elena Ilie
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