Illustrative stock photo (source: Sme)
Private passenger rail carrier RegioJet has increased the capacity of its trains on the Bratislava-Dunajská Streda-Komárno route as of January 22. RegioJet put a new train in operation to run at peak times. The carrier now operates a double-length train during peak hours instead of the standard train that was used before. The seat capacity has increased by 500 or 12 percent. For the moment, RegioJet has rented the trains but has plans to purchase its own and wants three of this kind to start operating by the summer. The train operator plans to add two more trains by the summer and boost the capacity by 1,000 seats or 25 percent.
As passenger demand on this route has been rising, the Transport Ministry urged the carrier to resolve the situation quickly.
“People will be able to travel more comfortably, as the new trains will operate as part of the busiest and most overcrowded rail services in order to carry more people,” said Minister Árpad Érsek (Most-Híd) as cited by the TASR newswire.
He pointed out that the number of trains on this line cannot be increased, as it is a single-track line and transport capacity can only be boosted via longer trains.
RegioJet annually transports about 2.7 to 3 million passengers on the Bratislava-Dunajská Streda-Komárno route. Before it began operating services, the route was used by 790,000 passengers per year on average. This means that the number of passengers almost quadrupled. The carrier expects a further increase in passenger numbers as of this April, when it will join the Integrated Transport System in the Bratislava Region.
