| Rail transport in Slovakia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A train of Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko | |||||
| Operation | |||||
| Infrastructure company | Železnice Slovenskej republiky | ||||
| Major operators | ZSSK, Leo Express, RegioJet | ||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Ridership | 72.47 million (2017)[1] | ||||
| Passenger km | 3.76 billion (2017)[1] | ||||
| Freight | 7 billion tonne-km (2017)[1] | ||||
| System length | |||||
| Total | 3,626 kilometres (2,253 mi)[1] | ||||
| Double track | 1,017 km (632 mi)[1] | ||||
| Electrified | 1,588 km (987 mi)[1] | ||||
| Track gauge | |||||
| Main | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||||
| High-speed | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | ||||
| Features | |||||
| No. tunnels | 75 | ||||
| Tunnel length | 43.23 kilometres (26.86 mi) | ||||
| Longest tunnel | Harmanec Tunnel 4,698 metres (15,413 ft) | ||||
| No. bridges | 2 321 | ||||
| |||||
Rail transport in Slovakia began on September 21, 1840, with the opening of the first horse-powered line from Bratislava to Svätý Jur (at that time in the Kingdom of Hungary). The first steam-powered line, from Bratislava to Vienna, opened on August 20, 1848.
The modern Železnice Slovenskej republiky company was established in 1993 as a successor of the Československé státní dráhy in Slovakia. 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 (Czech Republic) and Košice, Žilina and Košice, Žilina-Bratislava-Prague and on the Komárno - Dunajská Streda - Bratislava route.[2] The Bratislava-Komárno route is now operated by Leo Express. 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.[3]
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, a. s." (ZSSK)[4] providing Passenger transport services and "Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia, a. s." (ZSSK Cargo)[5] providing cargo services. Freight transport is operated by ZSCS and around 30 private companies.
Slovakia is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Slovakia is 56.
- ^ a b c d e f "Railway Statistics – 2017 Synopsis" (PDF). International Union of Railways, IUC. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Railway Gazette: Slovak passenger market starts to open". Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "Czech Republic, Slovakia: RegioJet to operate more routes in Slovakia?". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ^ "ZSSK Slovakrail Hlavná stránka". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08.
- ^ "ZSSK Cargo".