Železničná Spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK)
The founder and one hundred percent shareholder of ZSSK is the Slovak Republic, represented by the Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications.
ZSSK provides transport services on national and international lines. For information about train connections and tickets go to www.slovakrail.sk.
Train categories in Slovakia
Regional trains:
Os - Passenger train (osobný vlak) - trains that stop at every station on the route for short-distance transport and connections with higher category trains.
ER – EURegio – interstate regional trains that serve mainly short-distance cross-border transport.
Long-distance transport:
The lines for long-distance transport use the three main routes connecting west and east Slovakia: Bratislava – Žilina – Košice; Bratislava – Zvolen – Košice; Bratislava – Červená Skala – Margecany. Because Slovakia is located in the centre of Europe, international lines also have national importance, primarily those connecting with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
Zr – Faster train (zrýchlený vlak) – supplements the fast trains mainly on side lines; their difference from Os is that these trains do not stop at every station on the route.
Spr – Sprinter – the same as Zr, but for cross-border international lines.
R – Fast train (rýchlik) – the basic category of trains in the national transportation scheme. The route schedule is designed so that these trains provide transport to all places in Slovakia, either directly or via connections. These trains stop only at selected bigger stations.
Ex – Express – faster than R, because these trains stop at fewer stations than an R train.
EC – EuroCity – trains connecting important European centres with good quality transport in terms of speed, comfort and additional services. An additional fee is required.
IC – InterCity – the same service standard as EC trains but operating only inside Slovakia. An additional fee is required and a seat reservation is compulsory.
SC – SuperCity – trains for long distance travel connecting the biggest cities, using 680 (Pendolino) carriages providing a high level of comfort for passengers. Only one of these trains
is operating at the moment in Slovakia, the Slovenská Strela between Bratislava and Prague.
