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Rail transport and Cableway installations designed to carry persons

The rail network in Slovenia is owned by the State and consists of 1,208 kilometres of track. By developing rail traffic, we aim to ensure a safe, reliable and environmentally acceptable mode of transporting goods and passengers, the greatest possible regional and inter-regional cohesion, and an efficient supply to the economy.

Cableway transport has a specific role and importance within the Slovenian public transport system. It enables the mobility of passengers and goods in demographically endangered areas where other types of transportation are not possible and is generally the most ecological means of transport.

The rail system in Slovenia is the sum of facilities, track, track structures and railway vehicles. These all serve the provision of rail transport services and the management of the rail system as a whole. Users can access public rail transport and the public railway infrastructure is owned by the State. The Infrastructure Agency is responsible for the construction, upgrading, renovation and maintenance of the public railway infrastructure, while the management thereof is carried out by the company Slovenske železnice – Infrastruktura, d.o.o. The company Slovenske železnice – Potniški promet, d.o.o., transports approximately 15 million passengers per year with around 525 trains and the company Slovenske železnice – Tovorni promet, d.o.o., transports around 2 million tonnes of goods per year (2017).

The objectives of the programme of railway infrastructure development pursue the joint objective of the sustainable development of Slovenia. Our goals are to increase the competitiveness of the economy by reducing travel times, improve traffic flow and reduce transport costs, connect the public rail network to the EU network, improve accessibility to individual regions and inter-regional connectivity, increase traffic safety, reduce the burden on the environment, increase the effectiveness of traffic management, reduce operating costs, introduce interoperability, and ensure high standards at, well-managed and safe stations and stops within the public passenger transport system.

One of the priority programme tasks in the field of rail traffic is the implementation of the Transport Development Strategy in the Republic of Slovenia until 2030 and of the Resolution on the National Programme for the Development of Transport in Slovenia until 2030. In this context, special emphasis is placed on the development of pan-European priority rail corridors and the associated absorption of EU funds to co-finance projects.

The Public Agency for Railway Transport keeps the national register of rail vehicles and is responsible, together with the Infrastructure Inspectorate, for safety control in rail traffic.

Interoperability

The technical and technological diversity of railway systems in Europe is one of the main obstacles to a unified European transport system and consequently the competitiveness of rail traffic. The fragmented development of railways in different countries has led to different systems of electrification, signalling devices, train traffic management and regulations. To establish a unified traffic system, the European Union adopted a special Directive on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union and associated regulations concerning technical specifications on interoperability, whose goal is to ensure the technical consistency of the European rail system. The interoperability requirements, which Slovenia also follows, refer to the construction, upgrading, renovation, operation and maintenance of the railway system and the professional and medical qualifications of railway personnel.

Passenger rights

The EU legislation also pays attention to the rights of passengers in transport. A special regulation governs the rights related to informing passengers, ticket refunds, compensation, assistance for people with disabilities and complaints. The Passenger Rights campaign facilitates access to information to passengers about their rights regarding the use of rail and air transport.