Ministry: Cancellation of IC Trains Offset by More Frequent Train Operation

Bratislava, October 16 (TASR) - The scrapping of IC trains will go hand-in-hand with the introduction of express trains that will serve their routes at one-hour frequency, Transport Ministry spokesperson Petra Polackova told TASR on Wednesday. The spokesperson spoke in response to criticism levelled over the cancellation of IC trains by opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS). "This means that whereas today a train goes between the west and east once every two hours, now it will be every hour. Hence, passengers will get more trains and they won't be so overcrowded as they are today," claimed Polacikova. The ministry pointed out that unlike IC trains, express trains make stops at more stations, so this change will be more beneficial to a larger group of passengers. "IC trains operated at a loss every year, filled to only about 50 percent of their capacity. If we wish the state to husband its resources prudently, then this is the way to make it happen," added Polacikova. Earlier in the day, PS lambasted the extension of the duration of the shortest train connection between Bratislava and Kosice by almost an hour and called on Transport Minister Jozef Raz Jr. (Smer-SD) to rescind the cancellation of IC trains. PS caucus chair Martin Dubeci even announced that the party will launch a petition in the foreseeable future to preserve these trains. "We're quite surprised by the change in the stance of PS, seeing as it was their MP Stefan Kiss, under whose leadership the Value for Money Department has been promoting the cancellation of IC trains and the introduction a train every hour for a long time. In addition, we'd like to point out that the railway changes have no bearing whatsoever with Bratislava-Kosice flights," stated the ministry's spokesperson. mf/mcs