Slovakia - General Information

Country Name

Slovakia (Slovenska Republika)

National railway system

Železnice Slovenskej republiky (ŽSR) was split into two companies on 1 January 2002:

National Railway Operator

Železničná spoločnosť (ZSSK).

Infrastructure Authority

Železnice Slovenskej republiky (ŽSR),

Language

Slovak (Slovenský)

Currency

Euro

UIC code

Numeric 56; alpha SK

Timetable

Journey Planner

www.zssk.sk/en

Downloadable Timetable

www.zsr.sk/. Click on the ‘Cestovný poriadok’ link under the heading ‘INFORMÁCIE PRE CESTUJÚCU VEREJNOSŤ’ on the left hand side of the page.

Printed Timetable

Cestovný poriadok, published annually. This includes introductory material in English, French and German, and contains details of the ŽSR-owned funicular railways and cableways. Timetable supplements are issued twice a year, usually in March and June: normally these are obtainable only at major stations and on presentation of the coupon in the timetable book. A fold-out route map shows principal stations. The timetable retains the useful train routing markings in the centre of the train timings column: a straight line indicates that the train runs through the listed stations, whereas a wavy line shows that the train runs via a different route.

Additional Notes on reading the Timetable

• The "crossed hammers" working days symbol means "Mondays to Fridays" and not, as for most other railways, "Mondays to Saturdays".
• Two useful symbols exist which show the booked route for trains not calling at a station: in the middle of the train column, a vertical bar "|" means that the train passes through the station without stopping, whereas a vertical 'wiggly line' ">" and "<" means that the train does not pass through that station but instead takes a different route. This must not be confused with a vertical 'wiggly line' to the left of the time, which means that the train runs only on certain days.

Engineering Information

www.zsr.sk/slovensky/aktuality/mimoriadne-udalosti.html?page_id=132 in Slovak only. The current week is given at isi.zsr.sk/NADAktualT.htm and the following week at isi.zsr.sk/NADBuduciT.htm

Maps

Printed Maps

• European Railway Atlas: Scandinavia and Eastern Europe by M.G. Ball (1993) (ISBN 0-7110-2072-4)
• European Railway Atlas by M.G. Ball (2008 onwards)

Web-based Maps

• Thorsten Büker's Slovakia Map and an enlargement of Bratislava.
• Route diagram of Bratislava with historical notes.
• Maps and Plans - Slovakia

Ticketing

ŽSR discontinued its network ticket several years ago.

Seat reservations are compulsory on IC trains, and casual travellers (even those with One Country pass tickets) may be asked to pay a seat reservation charge.

Gauge

The main line network is Standard. The tramway between Trenčianská Teplá and Trenčianske Teplice is 760mm gauge. The Tatranské Elektrické Železnice (Tatras Electric Railways) system is 1000mm gauge.

There are two 1520mm gauge freight-only routes into Ukraine:

• between the East Slovakia Steelworks (VSŽ), south west of Košice, via Trebišov to Uzhgorod (note: the route of this is shown completely wrongly on some maps). A joint venture has been set up to assess the merits of extending this line westwards to Wien.
• between Čierna nad Tisou and Chop.

Electrification

Main line electrification is 3 kV dc except for the south west of the country which is 25 kV 50 Hz; the changeover point is just south of Púchov. The Trenčianske Teplice tramway is 600 V dc. The Tatra system is 1500 V dc. The cross-border line from Kittsee ÖBB to Bratislava-Petržalka is electrified at the Austrian standard 15 kV 16.7 Hz.

Rule of the road

Right.

Other railways

There are several freight operators: BRKS Bratislava, U. S. Steel Košice, Slovenská železničná dopravná spoločňosť, LTE Slovakia.

Tourist lines

• Čiernohronská Železnica Čierny Balog is a 760mm gauge former forestry railway. It operates over 14 km of track from Chvatimech ČHŽ station (on the opposite side of the river to Chvatimech ZSR) to Vydrovo skanzen between May and September. A short branch from Čierny Balog to Dobruč opened on 30 April 2012 and there are plans to reopen Vydrovo skanzen to Vydrovo dolina at a future date. The Čiernohronská Železnica website is in Slovak and has further information and photographs. The standard gauge connecting line between Chvatimech and Hronec has a return journey between Banská Bystrica and Hronec zlieváreň advertised for early May each year.
• The Kysuce-Orava Museum railway is a 7km 760mm gauge line about 20km east of Čadca. Further information is also available at the railway's "romantic" enthusiasts club website.
• At Čermel, north-west of Košice, there is the 4.2km long 1000mm gauge Čermel Valley Pioneer Railway.
• Near Smolenice is the Lesná železnica Katarínka, a short narrow gauge tourist line in the grounds on an old monastery [1]

Metro

None.

Trams

Bratislava and Košice. The ŽS operated Trenčianska Teplá - Trenčianske Teplice tramway was closed 10 December 2011

Recent and future changes

The following lines closed from 9 December 2012:

• 144 Prievidza - Nitrianske Pravno
• 154 Hronská Dúbrava - Banská Štiavnica
• 185 (part) Stará Ľubovňa - Plaveč
• 195 Bánovce nad Ondavou - Veľké Kapušany

In table 188, the Lipany - Plaveč section will have only one train each way FSuO.

The following lines have no services in the 2011-12 timetable

• 122 Trenčianska Teplá - Trenčianske Teplice ( Closed 10 December 2011). There are reports that a summer tourist operation may run.
• 134 Šaľa - Neded ( Removed from timetable 10 December 2011. In practice bus substituted since 12 December 2010)
• 191 Medzilaborce mesto - Łupków (Poland) ( The one return journey FSSuO, summer only does not appear in the timetable, and the service was suspended for the summer period of 2011 and 2012

These two lines lost their service from 1 May 2011

• 164 Fiľakovo - Somoskőújfalu (Hungary)
• 165 Plešivec - Muráň

The following lines lost their passenger services with effect from 12 December 2010:

• 132 Bratislava-Petržalka – Rajka (Hungary). The sole remaining service was the overnight train between Praha and Budapest.
• 133 Sered' – Leopoldov

The cross-border route from Lenartovce to Bánréve in Hungary closed to passenger services on 12 December 2009.

In May 2009 the Russian, Austrian, Slovak and Ukrainian railways agreed a joint venture to examine the case for extending from Košice to Vienna the 1520 mm gauge railway from the Ukraine, to connect central Europe to the Trans-Siberian.

Line 167 - Roznava to Roznava mesto (one early morning train each way) closed with effect from 14 June 2009

Line 135 - Komárno to Komárom (Hungary) - has closed and reopened several times in recent years: closed by June 2001; reopened by 2 February 2003; closed 11 December 2004; reopened 9 December 2007; closed 13 December 2008.

Owing to severe financial difficulties the following lines closed as from 2 February 2003 inclusive (timetable numbers shown):

• 112 Zohor - Plavecký Mikuláš
• 117 Jablonica - Brezová pod Bradlom
• 124 Nemšová - Lednické Rovne
• 136 Komárno - Kolárovo
• 141 Kozárovce - Zlaté Moravce - Lužianky
• 142 Zbehy - Radošina
• 144 Prievidza - Nitrianske Pravno
• 153 Zvolen - Šahy
• 161 Lučenec - Kalonda
• 163 Breznička - Katarínska Huta
• 166 Plešivec - Slavošovce
• 167 Rožňava - Dobšiná
• 168 Moldava nad Bodvou - Medzev
• 186 Spišská Nová Ves - Levoča
• 192 Trebišov - Vranov nad Topľou
• 175 Poltár - Rimavská Sobota [already replaced by buses]

The following lines closed as from 2 February 2003 but re-opened on 15 June 2003 with financial support from the local region:

• 134 Šaľa - Neded
• 143 Trenčín - Chynorany
• 151 Zlaté Moravce - Úľany nad Žitavou
• 152 Levice - Čata - Štúrovo
• 153 Šahy - Cata
• 154 Hronská Dúbrava - Banská Štiavnica
• 165 Plešivec - Muráň
• 195 Bánovce nad Ondavou - Veľké Kapušany

Line 175 (Rimavská Sobota - Poltár) was replaced by buses in 2001 because very poor track condition but these have now been withdrawn.

The short branch from Komárno to Komárno zastávka closed sometime in 2001.

The cross-border route from Parndorf via Kittsee to Bratislava-Petržalka opened in May 1999 and now carries the principal Wien - Bratislava services in preference to the Marchegg route.

Special notes

The electric railway between Štrba and Štrbské Pleso is rack worked. The steeply graded line between Pohronská Polhora and Tisovec-Bánovo is rack fitted but not worked as such.

See also

• Slovakia
• Slovakia - Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services