The current deputy director of economy of railway network operator Železnice Slovenskej Republiky (ŽSR), Štefan Hlinka, became the new director general as of April 9, ŽSR spokesperson Martina Pavlíková told the SITA newswire. Transport Minister Ľubomír Vážny appointed Hlinka after he was proposed by the company's board of directors. Hlinka replaces Dalibor Zelený, who stepped down for personal reasons as of April 4.
"I will strive to continue the ongoing stabilisation and development of ŽSR. My priorities include successful consolidation of the railways, creating conditions for increasing the productivity of railway transport, as well as the modernisation of railway infrastructure and the construction of European corridors," said Hlinka immediately after his appointment. He added that his goal was to contribute, in cooperation with the Transport Ministry and the two largest railway companies, to the significant improvement of railway transport in Slovakia. Hlinka has held the post of economic deputy director at ŽSR since December 1, 2002. Before that he served in several positions in the pulp and paper mill SCP Papier a.s. Ružomberok, Magnólia a.s. Bratislava, Poľnobanka a.s. Bratislava, M-Centrum a.s. Bratislava and Stavomontáže s.p. Prešov.
The Slovak government founded ŽSR as a state-run company at the beginning of 1993 following the split of Československé Štátne Dráhy (Czechoslovak State Railways). As part of a project to transform and restructure the railways in Slovakia the firm was subsequently divided into ŽSR and Železničná Spoločnosť (ŽSSK). Since then, ŽSR has been operating the railway network and providing related services in line with state transport policy. ŽSR last year reported a profit of Sk18,961 billion, Sk335.4 million more than forecast. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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