Transport in Slovenia

The location at the junction of the Mediterranean, the Alps, the Dinarides and the Pannonian Plain and the area being traversed by major rivers have been the reasons for the intersection of the main transport routes in Slovenia. Their course was established already in Antiquity. A particular geographic advantage in recent times has been the location of the intersection of the Pan-European transport corridors V (the fastest link between the North Adriatic, and Central and Eastern Europe) and X (linking Central Europe with the Balkans) in the country. This gives it a special position in the European social, economic and cultural integration and restructuring.

The existing Slovenian rails, which were mostly built in the 19th century, are out-of-date and can't compete with the motorway network. The maintenance and modernisation of the Slovenian railway network has been neglected due to the lack of financial assets, creating bottlenecks. Nevertheless, it has been gaining momentum with the completion of the motorway cross. The Slovenian Railways company operates 1,229 km (764 mi) of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge tracks, 331 km (206 mi) as double track, and reaches all regions of the country. The network comprises main lines and regional lines. Electrification is provided by a 3 kV DC system, except at the junctions with railways of foreign countries, and covers 503.5 kilometres (312.9 mi). Due to the out-of-date infrastructure, the share of the railway freight transport has been in decline in Slovenia despite growing slightly in absolute terms. The railway passenger transport has been recovering after a large drop in the 1990s. The Pan-European railway corridors V and X, and several E-railways (E65, E67, E69, and E70) intersect in Slovenia. All international transit trains in Slovenia drive through the Ljubljana Railway Hub, and all international passenger trains stop there.

With the share of over 80%, the road freight and passenger transport constitutes the largest part of transport in Slovenia. Personal cars are much more popular than public road passenger transport, which has significantly declined.Motorways and expressways, operated by the Motorway Company in the Republic of Slovenia, are the state roads of the highest category. On motorways and express ways, cars must have a toll sticker. Slovenia has a very high motorway density compared to the European Union average. The first highway in Slovenia, the A1 motorway connecting Vrhnika and Postojna, was opened in 1972, but the construction was really speed up in 1994, when the National Assembly enacted the first National Motorway Construction Programme. Till February 2012, a network consisting of 528 km (328 mi) of motorways, expressways and similar roads has been built. Its essential section, the Slovenian Motorway Cross, which is part of the Trans-European Road network, was completed in October 2011. It comprises the motorway route heading from east to west, in line with the Pan-European Corridor V, and the motorway route heading in the north–south direction, in line with the Pan-European Corridor X, part of which is considered the Slovenian transport backbone. The newly built road system slowly, but steadily transforms Slovenia into a large conurbation and connects it as a unitary social, economic and cultural space, with links to neighbouring areas. In contrast, other state roads, managed by the Slovenian Infrastructure Agency (until January 2015 named Slovenian Roads Agency), have been rapidly deteriorating due to neglection and the overall increase in traffic. About half of them are in a bad condition. The urban and suburban network served by buses is relatively dense.

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Wikipedia