Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
How frequent and uncoordinated track closures are reducing the share of rail freight transport in Slovakia
For a long time, the media have been reporting on the enormous investment deficit in Slovakia’s railway infrastructure. Nobody doubts the need for closures, repairs, modernizations, electrifications, and improvements to the rail network. Indeed, somewhat more funding has started to flow in than in the past. However, for ZSSK CARGO, the only nationwide rail freight carrier in Slovakia, this has had very serious and negative consequences.
Corridor modernization and freight transport
Main railway corridors undoubtedly need higher speeds and modern infrastructure. Yet from the public’s point of view, the main criteria are the highest possible speed and the greatest number of stops—in other words, almost everything is done with passenger transport in mind. During modernization projects, freight transport is often overlooked. This has consequences for the declining share of rail shipments and for the performance of operators such as ZSSK CARGO.
After modernization, corridors frequently lose their connections to industrial sidings. The number of passing tracks at stations is often reduced, which matters because freight trains naturally have to give way to passenger services. With fewer passing tracks, there are fewer places where freight trains can be overtaken by passenger trains. As a result, freight trains end up waiting in stations that are sometimes far apart. While overtaking a truck on the highway might take a minute, a freight train can end up waiting for hours.
Moreover, many modernized corridors run parallel to main roads, and it is along these roads that modern industrial parks and logistics centers are being developed—exactly the sort of sites that could generate new intermodal shipments for the railway. However, intermodal terminals there are lacking. Thus, as the structure of Slovak industry changes, old types of shipments (like coal) are disappearing, while new forms of transport (e.g., combined/intermodal shipments) are not emerging. Consequently, rail in Slovakia remains heavily dependent on supplying raw materials for industry and, to a lesser degree, on exporting finished goods from large enterprises.
One specific example is the cessation of shipments of groups of covered wagons carrying rubber, which used to travel to Púchov via the system of single wagonloads (SWL). While higher fees for passage through the Suez Canal and increasing costs for single-wagon services were key factors, the customer ultimately switched to using containers shipped all the way to Hamburg. From there, a private operator moves them by container train to a terminal near Zlín, and the final 50 kilometers across the border to Púchov is handled by truck. Although a truck now serves the Slovak portion of the route rather than a train, at least the long-haul segment has remained on rail—proving that intermodal transport is the future.
The impact of track closures on rail freight transport outside main corridors
In recent years, various investment projects have been carried out on the rail network, which undoubtedly improve infrastructure overall. However, less is said about the ways in which these long-term track closures can affect rail freight shipments.
In some cases—such as the bulk transport of raw materials and construction materials from the Gemer region—the lengthy track closures for the electrification of the line to Moldava nad Bodvou have fortunately not led to the cancellation of newly planned shipments. Yet sometimes multiple, simultaneous closures effectively cut an industrial enterprise off from the rail network. In these instances, even if ZSSK CARGO’s commercial managers work hard to secure shipments and the customer is willing to ship by rail, the situation simply does not allow for it.
Here are several specific examples that illustrate how difficult it can be to bring shipments back to the rails once a track closure has taken place:
The crucial modernization of the railway line between Nová Baňa and Hronský Beňadik has impacted ZSSK CARGO’s long-standing successful transports. Although the closure complicated the routing of loaded trains to Lisková—which were previously brought by truck to Kozmálovce, where full trainsets of timber were formed for shipment to Lisková—an alternative solution was found by routing them via Leopoldov. After the completion of closures around Humenné, ZSSK CARGO regained timber shipments not only to Lisková but also resumed exports abroad. This case nicely shows that if customers are satisfied with rail transport, they can wait out the necessary infrastructure repairs.
With groups of freight wagons, however, the situation is different. That same closure in the Pohronie region meant, for example, the cessation of regular group-wagon shipments from Hliník nad Hronom to Podbrezová. The problems had already begun two years ago with uncertainty over electricity prices, which compelled the customer to switch to road transport.
A planned closure near Lučenec threatens one of the few shipments of finished goods—exports of sawn timber from a sawmill in Tomášovce, carried in covered freight wagons. The closure directly impacts the line section Prša –Holiša. Currently, this closure overlaps with the closure on the Nová Baňa – Hronský Beňadik section, which effectively “cuts off” the customer’s access to rail. This example highlights the lack of coordination in ŽSR’s track-closure planning. Finding a cost-feasible alternative route is, in many cases, impossible.
The largest current investment project—the modernization of the Žilina rail hub—also means huge losses in freight volumes and revenue, as well as jeopardizes the return of suspended shipments to rail, since they must temporarily be replaced by road transport.
On the line to Rajec, the closure has delayed the start of shipments and the delivery of clinker to Lietavská Lúčka. The customer is eagerly awaiting the resumption of traffic on this line from May 2025, as the technology for processing the clinker is already in place. Also at risk is the resumption of steel coil deliveries to the Žilina automotive plant. Until the closure began, these used to travel by full trainload to Žilina and were partially offloaded in Bytčica, where they were transferred onto trucks and delivered just-in-time to the automaker.
The challenge of attracting new domestic rail shipments
Over the last 20 years, the distances at which it becomes cost-effective to use rail have multiplied. Nowadays, rail transport is dominated by full-train or intermodal shipments from seaports or transshipment terminals, over distances of more than 500 kilometers. Within that range, rail can effectively compete with road haulage. However, in a small country like Slovakia, even with discounts, it is hard to outperform trucks. Each year, ZSSK CARGO’s commercial managers quote a large number of inquiries, but the deciding factor is often price—and besides fierce competition from private rail operators, there are more and more trucks on the road. As their profit margins shrink, trucking companies drive prices lower and lower.
ZSSK CARGO’s sales teams tirelessly quote new shipments. But the complex pricing structure of single wagonload services—an issue across all of Europe—together with decreasing transport volumes due to the decline in European industry, plus the ongoing closures on Slovakia’s railway network, make their work extremely challenging.
The purpose of this text is not to criticize or to offer excuses. Rather, it is to illustrate how difficult it can be to shift cargo and goods onto the rails—given the hand that has been dealt, and with the limited options available to the commercial managers striving to increase the share of rail transport.
Photos: Martin Tlelka, Jakub Reguli
