Slovak Railways (ŽSR) have announced changes to train timetables starting 1 September. Most of the changes are related to repair works at Bratislava Main Railway Station.
From Bratislava to Trnava
From that date, all regular passenger trains on the Bratislava–Trnava route will operate only as far as Bratislava-Nové Mesto station. Some services will be cancelled altogether.
To compensate for the reduced service, the Považan express will make additional stops during the morning and daytime at Bratislava-Rača, Cífer and Šenkvice. The additional stops will make the journey on Považan approximately four minutes longer.
During the summer, the express also made additional stops at Cífer, Šenkvice and Báhoň due to repair works on the section between Trnava and Cífer. The main works were completed on 10 August. The speed limit on one of the tracks is currently 120 km/h, while the other remains limited to 50 km/h as the railway infrastructure needs to fully stabilise following the repairs. ŽSR expects this restriction to be lifted by 24 August, after which the speed limit on both tracks should return to 120 km/h.
ŽSR has clarified that no further long-term closures are planned on the Bratislava–Trnava line before the end of the year.
From Bratislava to Púchov
Another set of restrictions is related to the European Train Control System (ETCS). The equipment has already been installed on the line between Bratislava and Púchov, but its commissioning has not yet been completed.
ETCS can automatically stop a train if the driver fails to respond to a dangerous situation on the track. Until the system is fully operational, trains on this section cannot use the maximum speed of 160 km/h and are limited to 120 km/h.
ŽSR has not yet announced when the approval and commissioning process will be completed.
Other changes
During the summer, some trains on the Bratislava–Galanta section were cancelled. This primarily affected services scheduled to operate during weekday rush hours and was caused by a shortage of train drivers. As compensation, REX services made additional stops at Ivanka pri Dunaji, Bernolákovo, Senec and Sládkovičovo. These restrictions are expected to end after 1 September.
In addition, timetable adjustments will affect several other routes from 1 September:
- Kriváň, Tatran and Zemplín trains will operate from Bratislava towards Žilina according to a different timetable;
- the Ponitran train will have a different departure time on the Bratislava–Leopoldov section;
- some Urpín trains from Banská Bystrica will terminate at Bratislava-Nové Mesto station.
