MORNING NEWS HIGHLIGHTS - Thursday, 13 November 2025 - 9 a.m.

TASR brings a quick morning overview of the most important events seen in Slovakia on the previous day (Wednesday, 12 November): BRATISLAVA - The passengers who suffered injuries in the rail accidents near Jablonov nad Turnou (Kosice region) and near Pezinok (Bratislava region) will receive compensation from the state ranging between €3,000 and €20,000, depending on the degree of their injuries, said Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) following the cabinet session on Wednesday, adding that these payouts are higher than standard. The money should be provided to passenger rail carrier ZSSK by the Finance Ministry via the Transport Ministry. The compensation doesn't apply to the staff on board the ZSSK trains at the time of the accidents. The state will compensate minor injuries with €3,000, moderately severe injuries with €10,000 and severe injuries with €20,000. The procedure for claiming compensation will be available on ZSSK's website. BRATISLAVA - The capacity of the railway line near Pezinok in Bratislava region has been fully restored after the train accident that took place on Sunday (9 November), meaning that as of Wednesday afternoon there will be no need to cancel any connections, TASR was told by spokesperson for rail-infrastructure operator ZSR Petra Lanikova. "ZSR managed to find a technical solution yesterday that allows tracks 1, 3, and 5 at Pezinok railway station to be used again. This means that trains can cross, and the line's capacity has thus been restored. As of today, full track speed has been introduced on the adjacent track. This will be limited for a necessary period of time while the consequences of the accident are being dealt with in accordance with transport regulations," said Lanikova. ZSR plans to complete repairs on track number 2 on Sunday (16 November). Railway workers will have to replace approximately 400 metres of rails and 360 sleepers. They will also replace and repair two sets of points. BRATISLAVA - Train drivers' activities in their cabs will be monitored by cameras, and a driver's card will also be introduced to check whether they are complying with mandatory rest periods, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) stated following the government meeting on Wednesday when presenting some measures to improve rail transport safety in Slovakia. In addition, according to him, the railways will be gradually equipped with the ETCS (European Train Control System) and GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway) systems. "Today, all engines have a camera pointing towards the tracks. Additional cameras will be purchased, and they will be pointed towards the controls. It is simply a measure costing a few euros to see what the train driver is doing, because he may be on his mobile phone, which is prohibited. This is prohibited for all drivers, but a train driver won't be stopped by a police officer and told, 'You have a fine because you were holding a mobile phone in your hand'," stated Raz. The minister pointed out that the ETCS system, which enables automatic braking and prevents accidents on the tracks, should be installed on the main railway network, which covers 770 kilometres, in accordance with EU guidelines, by 2030. It should be introduced on the extended network by 2040 and implemented throughout Slovakia by 2050. BRATISLAVA - Opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) on Wednesday drew attention to a case involving a company allegedly linked to a donor to the Voice-SD party, which received a €3-million subsidy to support robotics under the authority of Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and Knowledge-based Economy Peter Kmec (Voice-SD), while the Deputy Prime Minister's Office has rejected the allegations. Opposition MP Jan Hargas (PS) described the case as an example of political corruption. "Under a call for support for robotics and automation, a company called Grizzly Capital received a subsidy worth three million euros. This company owns another firm, Consult 4U, which donated €14,000 to the Voice party in 2022. Both companies are financially and personally interconnected and share the same statutory representative," said Hargas. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the Recovery Plan and Knowledge-based Economy has denied that the grant represented any kind of favour to the Voice–SD party. "Each project was evaluated by two independent assessors. These assessors weren't assigned by office staff but were drawn at random from a list of assessors, and a notarial record exists of the draw," said Alena Sabelova from the Deputy Prime Minister's Office. BRATISLAVA - Prime Minister and chair of the Smer-SD party Robert Fico offered Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice–SD) all possible legal assistance from Smer-SD on Wednesday with respect to the default court ruling in the case between the minister and a group of police investigators centered around Jan Curilla. In his social media post, Fico described the circumstances of the ruling as absurd. “The circumstances of the default ruling in the case of the Curilla Group versus the Interior Minister are so absurd that today I offered minister Matus Sutaj Estok all possible legal assistance that the legal structures linked to Smer-SD can provide. The quality of these structures is proven by dozens of successful decisions,” he stated. According to Fico, Smer-SD is also deeply concerned about some investigators' decisions. “We are attacked daily over how we plan to correct the injustices that occurred in 2020–2023. For example, it is practically impossible to explain to the people that the police has halted prosecution in the matter of massive military donations to Ukraine, claiming that no damage was caused,” he noted. MARTIN - A new athletics training hall will be built in close proximity to the athletics stadium in the town of Martin in Zilina region, Tourism and Sport Minister Rudolf Huliak (Independent) stated at a press conference on Wednesday. The minister also presented a symbolic cheque worth €5 million to Martin mayor Jan Danko. "I'm pleased that we're fulfilling the government resolution in which the cabinet committed itself to releasing €25 million from its reserve fund to supplement athletics infrastructure. Martin will have an indoor athletics arena that will meet all the parameters for individual athletics disciplines," said Huliak. Mayor Danko described the construction of the hall as one of the largest investments in sport in Martin in recent decades. "The athletics stadium area will become significantly more functional. Once the hall is built, this athletics stadium will meet all the criteria for a national athletics centre," he said. ko