Rail transport in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

began on September 21st 1840, with the opening of the first horse-powered line from

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Svätý Jur Svätý Jur (; german: Sankt Georgen; he, Yergen; hu, Szentgyörgy; formerly ''Jur pri Bratislave'') is a small historical town northeast of Bratislava, located in the Bratislava Region. The city is situated on the slopes of Little Carpathians ...

(at that time in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

). The first steam-powered line, from Bratislava to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, opened on August 20th 1848. The modern Železnice Slovenskej republiky company was established in 1993 as a successor of the Československé státní dráhy in

. Until 1996 it had formal monopoly on railroad transportation in the country, which remained a ''de facto'' monopoly until the advent of private operators entering the network in the early 2010s. Private passenger service operators include RegioJet, which operates trains between

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) and

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

Žilina Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Sl ...

and

and on the

Komárno Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube an ...

Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; hu, Dunaszerdahely; german: Niedermarkt; he, דונהסרדהיי) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a p ...

route. The Bratislava-Komárno route is now operated by ŽSR. The other private operator is Leo Express which operates trains on the Prague-Košice/Prešov route. There are plans to win more tenders in Slovakia. Since 2002 a law divided the company: ŽSR was left with infrastructure maintenance and passenger and cargo transport was moved into company " Železničná spoločnosť, a. s." (ZSSK). In 2005 this new company was further split into "

Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. (ZSSK) ('' en, The Railway Company of Slovakia'') is a Slovak state-owned passenger train company based in Bratislava. In 2002 a company Železničná spoločnosť was established as a successor of pe ...

, a. s." (ZSSK) providing Passenger transport services and "

Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia, a. s. (ZSSK CARGO, VKM: ZSSKC) is the Slovak state-owned freight train operator based in Bratislava. It was established on 1st January 2005 by separating Železničná spoločnosť into two different co ...

, a. s." (ZSSK Cargo) providing cargo services. Freight transport is operated by ZSCS and around 30 private companies. Slovakia is a member of the

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (UIC, french: Union internationale des wikt:chemin de fer, chemins de fer) is an international rail transport industry body. History The railways of Europe originated as many separate concerns, and there wer ...

(UIC). The

UIC Country Code The UIC Country Code is a two digit-number identifying countries in which members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) are active. The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock (UIC wagon numbers) and stations that include the coun ...

for Slovakia is 56.

History

Railway has become an important prerequisite for economic and social development of the country. In 1837 the construction of the first European Railway Highway started. Its construction became a potential threat to market of agricultural goods and timber from western Slovakia. Therefore, a company was founded to build a horse railway that would link the five royal cities between

and Trnava. The service was providing until the first half of the 19th century. At beginning, the construction of the railway was in the hands of the state. Later, in year 1854, the state entrusted railway building to private entrepreneurs.

1867–1873

The intensity of construction changed after settlement in 1867.

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

of Transport and Public Works was established. Its main objective was construction of transport communications independent of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In Slovakia this meant extensive construction of railways. In the period between 1867 and 1873 a number of major railways were built: *Košice – Žilina – Bohumín *Pešť – Fiľakovo – Lučenec – Zvolen – Vrútky *Michaľany – Humenné – Medzilaborce – Lupkov – Przemysl *Košice – Michaľany – Slovenské Nové Mesto – Čop *Bratislava – Trenčín *Prešov – Orlov – Tarnov *Fiľakovo – Plešivec – Dobšiná, Jesenské – Tisovec Hungary tried to use private capital for railway construction. The lack of funds threatened the construction of railways and Hungary started in 1868 to build railways on its own. The railway construction was accompanied by a series of scandals and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

affairs among

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

, politicians and businessmen. In spite of this fact, the basis of the railway network was set up in relatively short time.

1873–1918

Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

of the Vienna

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

was the beginning of an economic crisis affecting the economy of the monarchy throughout the first half of the 70th of the 19th century. Changing economic circumstances was reflected on the further construction of railways. During this period, the country was aware of the strategic importance of railway transportation for economy and policy. The state responded to the situation with a number of actions: stopped the construction of expensive railways and created legal conditions for the construction of local railways.

1918–1939

After the formation of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, the most important task was to maintain and run the rail network defined by the new boundaries. Two divisions, which were set up in the cities Košice and Bratislava, were responsible for the network managing.

inherited rail network that was insufficient for the new state requirements. The only one efficient line was Košice-Bohumín. The state therefore decided to take over the operation of all private railways and extend the rail lines. The pressure of competition from the road freight transport stimulated further developments. The speed of freight trains was increased up to 70 km/h by applying continuous braking. Significant progress in passenger traffic was achieved by motorization of local railways.

1939–1945

On 3 March 1939 the

Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arka ...

was established. However, it was dependent on

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The war caused high intensity of freight transport. The key role was played by export of raw materials, agricultural and food products. Passenger transport was characterized by extensive seasonal movements of agricultural and industrial workers from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Slovakia,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

travelling to Germany.

1945–1992

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the reestablishment of Czechoslovakia, the main issue that needed to be resolved was the reconstruction of the rail network. After the 1948 regime change, a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

government came to power. All private railways were nationalized. The insufficient capacity of the Čierna nad Tisou – Košice – Žilina – Bohumín line was the main factor that sped up the expansion of the rail network in southern Slovakia. At the same time, the

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

of railways was carried out. The constitution of 1960 defined Czechoslovakia as a

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a Sovereign state, sovereign State (polity), state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The ...

. Rail transport was a major pillar of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's "iron and steel" doctrine. There was strong emphasis on the transport of raw materials, building materials, fuels and food.

Industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

had a significant impact on the growth of passenger transport — people traveled to work and school over large distances. The growth in intensity caused imbalances between demand and technical capabilities. The situation stabilized during the 1970s due to the development of individual car transport and the intensity of rail transport started to decline.

After 1993

On January 1st 1993 the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

became an independent country. At the same time, the company Železnice Slovenskej Republiky was established. The bad initial situation required steps to be taken to consolidate the operation of the railway network as quick as possible. The most important measure was to create conditions for the

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

and optimization of rail activity to meet business requirements. The strategic objective was to provide access to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

trade market and to capitalize on the geographic location of the territory of the Slovak Republic and its tourist potential. At the moment the line from Košice to Moldava nad Bodvou is undergoing electrification.

Intermodal Traffic from China

In 2017 a trial container service from Dalian in China to the SPaP port on the River Danube in Bratislava arrived in the Slovak capital on November 13, after a 17-day journey via Russia and Ukraine. The 41 containers carrying goods worth more than US$3m including electronics and machine parts were transhipped between gauges at the Manzhouli/Zabaykalsk crossing between China and Russia and at Dobrá on the Ukraine/Slovakia border, where the freight facility has two gantry cranes and a transhipment capacity of up to 200 000 containers per year.Dalian to Bratislava freight service arrives
/ref>

Companies

* Železnice Slovenskej republiky (''ŽSR'') -

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

-owned railway

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

operator in Slovakia * RegioJet - private passenger railway operator * LEO Express - private passenger railway operator *

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Čierny Hron Railway The Čierny Hron Railway (in Slovak: ''Čiernohronská železnica'' or ''ČHŽ'') is a narrow gauge railway in the Slovak Ore Mountains, built as a forest railway for logging operations. History Planning for the railway began in 1898 and bui ...

(''ČHŽ'') -

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

owned by villages on the ČHŽ lines *

The Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka The Historical Logging Switchback Railway in Vychylovka (near Nová Bystrica, Slovakia) is preserved section technically most interesting part of the former narrow-gauge zig zag logging railway located in Kysuce and Orava region. The railway wa ...

(''HLÚŽ'' or ''OKLŽ'') - a

owned by the Museum of Kysuce * Nitra Agricultural Museum Railway (''NPŽ'') - narrow gauge railway *

a. s. (''ZSSK'') - state-owned passenger train Operator *

a. s.(''ZSSK Cargo'' or ''ZSCS'') - state-owned

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

Operator

Statistics

Data taken fro
Year bulletin of ŽSR 2006 (in Slovak)
*Total length of lines: **

Single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

: **

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

or more track: *

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

: *

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

: *

Narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

: ** of gauge; of gauge) *

Electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

: As of December 31, 2010 * 75

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s measuring 43.228 kilometers * 2321

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whic ...

s measuring 52.154 kilometers * 8529

railroad switch A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common ty ...

Rail links to adjacent countries

* Same gauge **

— voltage change 25 kV AC/15 kV AC **

— same voltage 3 kV DC or 25 kV AC **

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

— same voltage 25 kV AC (at

Rusovce Rusovce ( hu, Oroszvár, hr, Rosvar german: Karlburg, Rossenburg, Kerchenburg) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border. History In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement n ...

Rajka Rajka (german: Ragendorf, sk, Rajka, hr, Rakindrof ) is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary. The village has large Slovak and German minorities. Etymology The name comes from the Slavic personal name ''Rajko'', ''Rajka'' (derive ...

Komárom Komárom (Hungarian: ; german: Komorn; la, Brigetio, later ; sk, Komárno) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárno, Slovakia, is on the northern bank. Komárom was formerly a separate villag ...

and

Štúrovo Štúrovo (before 1948: ''Parkan''; hu, Párkány, german: Gockern, tr, Ciğerdelen) is a town in Slovakia, situated on the River Danube. Its population in 2018 was 10,279. The town is situated opposite the Hungarian city of Esztergom. The Má ...

Szob Szob (german: Zopp an der Donau) is a town in Pest county, Central Hungary, Hungary. It is just south and east of the Slovak border on the north bank of the Danube. Szob is on a major electrified rail connection from Bratislava and a major railw ...

crossings) or voltage change 3 kV DC/25 kV AC (at

Kechnec Kechnec (german: Kechnetz; hu, Kenyhec) is a village in eastern Slovakia. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 180 metres and covers an area of 10.211 km². The municipality is part of the administrative units Košice-okolie Distric ...

Hidasnémeti Hidasnémeti is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary.Slovenské Nové Mesto-

Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (; archaic german: Neustadt am Zeltberg ; sk, Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom; yi, איהעל, Ihel, or ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary along the Slovak border. It is east from the county ...

crossing) **

— same voltage 3 kV DC * Break-of-gauge / **

— voltage 3 kV DC