Slovenian Railways Director – Passenger Transport Darja Kocjan and Stadler Group representative Željko Davidović signed on Wednesday the contract for the purchase of 20 new Swiss trains for passengers manufactured by Stadler in the presence of Prime Minister Robert Golob and Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratušek.
According to SŽ, the deal worth less than EUR 150 million will allow a further increase in the quality of service in passenger rail transport. The new passenger trainsets of Swiss manufacturer Stadler have diesel propulsion with the possibility of later electrification.
The contract is worth EUR 148.3 million and the first deliveries are scheduled for 2025. Dušan Mes, director of Slovenian Railways (SŽ), says this completes the rolling stock renewal cycle – a total of 72 new vehicles to be put into service by the end of 2025.
Swiss trains
The total investment amounts to almost half a billion euros. “With the renewal of the lines and the construction of a new passenger centre after 2026, public passenger rail services will certainly improve significantly. I realistically estimate that we will be comparable with more developed Nordic countries such as Austria, Germany, Switzerland. It is also our goal – to have a similar number of passengers per total population as in these countries. Today we carry 15 million passengers, and the ultimate goal is 30 million passengers by 2030.”
Infrastructure Minister Alenka Bratušek said that when she took office, she stressed that one of her top priorities was a “green”, sustainable and safe railway.
Railway station renovated with EU funds
Wednesday is important for Slovenia from another point of view. Also on Wednesday, the symbolic opening of the Grosuplje railway station, which was financed by EU funds, was celebrated: “In this way, we wanted to show that we are investing on both ends – in infrastructure, and here we are scientifically increasing the absorption of funds. If we invested 300 million in 2022, we will invest 470 million this year.”
Golob stressed that freight traffic is even more important than passenger traffic. “We all know that the situation on the roads today is unfortunately catastrophic and we all know that freight traffic must be taken off the roads as soon as possible. The only alternative to this is rail, so I hope for major future steps in this area.”
Slovenske Železnice completed the first phase of rolling stock renewal last September, when the last of 52 new Stadler trains was delivered. Since then, 21 Flirt double-deck electric trains, ten Kiss double-deck electric trains and 21 Flirt single-deck diesel trains have been running on Slovenian tracks.
Mes also said that with the new timetables some direct trains are being implemented, which means better journey times, especially on links between larger cities. “This will already be in the timetable for 2024 and to a greater extent in 2025. We are looking at renewing the lines,” he said. According to him, the 52 trains that SŽ has already taken over represent much more comfortable journeys and greater capacity (the double-decker Stadlers can carry more than 550 passengers). “Passenger numbers have increased by almost two million. As Premier Golob said, the state is building infrastructure, and SŽ is building better services related to the new trains.”
According to him, the new trains are capable of running at 140 km/h and some sections are already adapted to this. “In terms of better train speed or journey times, there are direct trains, which means fewer stops. As far as regional lines are concerned, it is up to the state to double certain sections, at least partially. At the moment, the biggest challenge is to be able to increase the number of trains, at least in terms of shorter distances to Ljubljana (…) At the moment, only a direct train can mean a better time,” he added. The aim is for passengers to get from Maribor to Ljubljana in less than 90 minutes. “When the work is finished, hopefully by 2025, we will achieve this.”
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