The reforms and investments under the "Sustainable Mobility" component aim to promote the use of public transport and rail passenger and freight transport, the use of alternative fuels in transport, and the digital transformation of rail and road transport.

Reform of the organisation of public passenger transport

Public transport in Slovenia was severely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, with passenger numbers falling by 75% in 2020.

This reform aims to promote and improve the accessibility and competitiveness of public transport so that it can recover after the pandemic. The reform will establish an integrated public passenger transport operator at the national level, which will support the integration of rail and bus public transport with intercity, urban, school and workers’ transport.

The reform will be implemented with the entry into force of a new law on public passenger transport and the establishment and entry into operation of a new integrated public transport operator. This is expected to be reflected in an increase in the use of public passenger transport.

Reform of the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure

The aim of the reform is to increase the use of alternative fuels in domestic and cross-border transport and to reduce the share of greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions from transport. In particular, the reform will establish an entity to coordinate the needs of the transport and energy sectors, which will ensure and coordinate the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure to strengthen the resilience of the transition to zero- and low-emission mobility.

The reform will be implemented with the entry into force of an act on alternative fuels in transport and alternative fuels infrastructure, which will also establish a national regulatory framework in the field of alternative fuels in transport. The new regulatory framework is expected to trigger the construction of at least 400 new registered recharging or refuelling points for alternative power vehicles in Slovenia by 31 December 2025, in addition to those financed under the Slovenian Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Increasing capabilities of the railway infrastructure – investment

The projects planned under the investment aim to promote rail transport and connectivity with urban centres. The projects will also improve the accessibility of railway stations for the wider population, including persons with disabilities. The selected projects will improve transport services for passengers and freight through:

• the upgrading of major railway stations on the regional network – Grosuplje and Domžale;
• the upgrading of a part of the Ljubljana–Divača railway line, which represents the main transport link between Primorska and Central Slovenia in Slovenia and is part of the two TEN-T corridors running through Slovenia, namely the Mediterranean and the Baltic–Adriatic corridors;
• the upgrading of the Ljubljana–Jesenice railway line;
• the upgrading of Ljubljana railway station by removing existing bottlenecks (phase 1).

Digitalisation of rail and road infrastructure – investment

These are investment projects to digitalise rail and road transport, ensuring interoperability, more efficient management and improved safety. The aim of the investment is to provide reliable information on the transport system in order to improve the acquisition and exchange of traffic data on the state of transport infrastructure and the real-time movement of vehicles. Scope:

• Digitalisation of rail transport: the investment promotes digital traffic management and control through the European Train Control System (ETCS). The investment will be implemented through a call for proposals organised by the Ministry of Infrastructure for the awarding of grants for the purchase of ECTS train equipment for the upgrade of existing rolling stock. The objective of the investment is to upgrade 32 locomotives with ETCS level 2 equipment.
• Digitisation of 70 kilometres of roads: the investment will include, among other things, the upgrade of the fibre optic network and the purchase of road detectors for the collection of real-time traffic data, including a simulation tool for planning, controlling and forecasting traffic on the motorway network, and application tools for users. By allowing real-time adjustments of travel speed limits, the traffic manager is expected to be able to prevent accidents and congestion and reduce emissions.

Promoting the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure in transport – investment

The objective of the investment is to co-finance the deployment of recharging or refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels. The investment includes the establishment of 482 publicly accessible charging points for zero- or low-emission vehicles.

On the basis of a preliminary analysis of the existing situation and future needs for such infrastructure in the Republic of Slovenia, critical areas will be identified in which financial incentives will be primarily directed, thus ensuring an adequate geographical dispersion of recharging or refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels in transport.