The state-run Slovak Railways (ŽSR) planned on a 1.82 billion Sk loss for the first half of this year, but ended up losing 2.69 billion Sk, company officials announced. In the past two years, ŽSR's sales increased by 12 percent, but costs went up as much as 22 percent.
The non-covered loss from passenger services was 1.95 billion Sk, and losses from financial operations reached 548.5 million Sk. Total revenues from transportation services were 5.45 billion Sk, down 2.07 billion from the first half of 1996.
Officials attributed the greater losses to the Czech Railways strike, floods, a decline in coal imports from the Czech Republic, and the introduction of import deposits. Traffic between the east Slovak iron mill VSŽ and its Ukrainian and Czech partners was lower this year as well.
