Transport Ministry Plans to Modernise Railway Line from Bratislava to Komarno

Bratislava, October 12 (TASR) - The railway line between Bratislava and Komarno (Nitra region) could become double-tracked in the future, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) has posted on a social network, adding that the Transport Ministry wants to include the line's modernisation among strategic investments. "The project is one of our priorities, and we're preparing to include it among strategic investments so that we can speed up preparations for this modernisation as much as possible in accordance with the Act on Strategic Investments," stated the minister. According to Raz, the biggest problem of the Bratislava-Komarno line is that it is single-tracked. There are 12 stations and six stops on the 95-kilometre-long section, and the track is used for both passenger and cargo transport. It's enough if one of the trains is running late for all trains to fall behind schedule, he noted. Another problem is that the track isn't electrified. The maximum permitted speed on the section is 80 km/hour, but trains run at a speed of 50 km/hour on average there, said the minister. The ministry is still considering whether to reconstruct the entire section as a double-tracked line, or only certain parts of it. "Anyway, the result should be that more trains will be able to run on this line, that they will be able to go faster and that we'll avoid any delays," noted Raz. The ministry would like to cover the modernisation of the Bratislava-Komarno line via a PPP (public-private partnership) project. Raz declined to specify at the moment when the reconstruction could start. He only said that if the project receives a certificate of strategic investment, it could speed up the preparation process. ko/df