Rail Freight Transport in Upper Nitra

The Upper Nitra region, which was once defined by heavy rail transport, is now undergoing the most significant transformation of the era. Following the decline in coal mining, electricity is no longer being produced from thermal power plants this year. This not only marks the end of coal transportation but also of desulfurization limestone transport, leading to the discontinuation of probably the most famous freight train of ZSSK CARGO - the Ekocell Express. Is there any rail freight transport left in this part of Slovakia?

Fortunately, although significantly reduced, there are still loads to be loaded and unloaded from railway wagons. This is mainly thanks to the network-wide service and single wagonload shipments managed by ZSSK CARGO.

Chemicals Take the Lead
After coal and limestone, chemical products have taken the lead in transport. The company FORTISCHEM in Nováky is unique in rail usage mainly through single wagonload transport (SWT) and groups of wagons. Compared to complete trains, these seem like small volumes, but appearances can be deceiving.

From the beginning of 2023 to mid-2024, there were a total of more than 2,000 wagons, demonstrating the power of single wagonload transport, which not only do not burden the roads but also prevent the risk of road accidents involving chemicals on highly accident-prone roads.

The Nováky chemical plant predominantly dispatches its products by rail, with destinations across Slovakia thanks to ZSSK CARGO: Haniska near Košice, Boleráz, Púchov, Bratislava, Šaľa, Veľké Kostoľany, Pezinok, Hlohovec, Slovenská Ľupča, Podbrezová, and Nižný Hrabovec. SWT shipments also go abroad in large numbers, for export to Germany, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine.

The Classic “Singles” – Scrap and Wood
The most common commodities on Slovak tracks in the SWT system are scrap metal for recycling and wood for processors – both domestic and export transports. The same applies to Upper Nitra.

A significant contributor of scrap-loaded wagons is the customer DESPE from Prievidza. If we go as far as Nitra, the circular economy company ŽP EKO QELET loads this commodity there. In Nitra, finished iron products, specifically sheets, are also unloaded at the siding of the company Ferona.

Wood transports also start in the terminal stations of small local lines, such as Nitrianske Pravno. From the siding of Lesy SR here, wagon shipments and groups of wagons go to the pulp mill in Ružomberok and for export to Austria. Over the past year and a half, more than 150 wagons have been shipped. Wagon shipments may seem small, but over time this amounted to equivalent of 5 unit trains.

Lesy SR is a significant customer for ZSSK CARGO. Wood is also loaded in Veľké Uherce and Topoľčany. Unfortunately, transportation decisions are mostly made by buyers who often prefer the comfort and simplicity of road transport over the environmentally responsible option of rail.

In Veľké Bielice near Partizánske, there is gas unloaded, which takes place directly on the tracks using portable pipes.

ZSSK CARGO also has contracts with military units, when stations in Zemianske Kostoľany and another in Nováky are used for occasional special services as needed.

Commodities Change Along with the Orientation of Slovak Industry
While heavy industry is also declining in central Slovakia (including thermal power plants and, for example, the terminated transport of bauxite to Žiar nad Hronom), new industry based on automotive is growing.

That is why the most important customer near Nitra is the company Jaguar Land Rover. Complete trains with new vehicles from production are loaded at the Intermodal Transport Terminal (TIP) in Lužianky. ZSSK CARGO hauls them with diesel locomotives to Leopoldov, where they hand them over to electric traction and deliver them to Slovakia’s border crossing stations for further export to the world.

Unused Potential of Sidings
As in other regions of Slovakia, there are sidings and loading tracks in the Upper Nitra region that are still waiting to realize their potential. Examples include the siding of DECODOM in Topoľčany or the currently unused siding of the power plant in Nováky. An industrial park is planned in this area, awaiting investment plans. It is hoped that the potential of rail connection will not be forgotten. In Italy, for example, there is a law stating that every new industrial park must have a railway siding and terminal – the so-called "interporto." Such a law would indeed be beneficial not only in Slovakia but also across Europe if we want to achieve the EU's goal of shifting 30% of road freight to rail by 2030.

Service by ZSSK CARGO Trains in Upper Nitra
The tracks in Upper Nitra are not electrified, double-tracked, or part of any major transport artery. Diesel locomotives of ZSSK CARGO dominate the service here. They connect Nováky directly to the main line in Leopoldov three times a week, while on Mondays and Wednesdays they also serve stations along the way – Lužianky, Topoľčany, Veľké Bielice, and Veľké Uherce.

From Prievidza, freight trains go directly to the Bratislava East marshalling yard. The service of the siding on the branch line from Prievidza to Nitrianske Pravno is provided by a ZSSK CARGO local train as needed.

Northward, a steep but picturesque line leads from Nováky through Handlová to the summit station Horná Štubňa, where freight trains with chemicals, scrap metal, and wood split. Subsequent local trains sort the loads – one ends at the Zvolen marshalling yard and the other concludes its journey at Žilina Teplička.

For half a century, the characteristic sounds of 751 and 752 series locomotives have echoed through Upper Nitra. With the arrival of twenty modernized 742.6 series locomotives and the potential for an additional 20 modern units of this type, complete replacement of older types is expected.

The first signs have already appeared. On trains with new cars from Nitra, you can see locomotive 742 654, while from Nové Zámky to Zlaté Moravce, there is locomotive 742 660. Gradually, the fate of the Class 751 and 752 locomotives is being sealed. For ZSSK CARGO, this is a necessary and significant step forward. The new locomotives are more reliable, powerful, environmentally friendly, economical, and comfortable. But for railway enthusiasts, there remains the short time window of capturing these locomotives" in Upper Nitra while it is still possible.

Photo: Šimon Pjaták, Štefan Kováčik