UHP: Individual Automation Projects Could Accelerate Rail Safety Upgrades

Bratislava, 26 January (TASR) - The total cost of all railway measures related to automation and the introduction of the modern European Train Control System (ETCS) is estimated at €2.4 billion, the Finance Ministry's Value for Money Section (UHP) posted on a social network on Monday, adding that safety upgrades on railway lines could be accelerated mainly through individual automation projects. According to UHP, for the ETCS system to be able to actually stop a train, it must also be installed on the vehicles. Around 100 trains operated by passenger rail carrier ZSSK will thus need to be retrofitted at a cost of €70 million. "Given the high financial demands, the automation of the railway network requires phased planning and implementation based on priorities," stated UHP. UHP in October 2025 published a list of rail routes that should be prioritised for automation and the introduction of the ETCS system. These are routes on which trains usually run at least once in two hours. It has now added estimates of the potential costs and timelines. At the current pace of 14 kilometres per year, UHP analysts estimate that the necessary rail safety upgrades wouldn't be completed until 2175. Under this scenario, the main transport corridor from Bratislava to Kosice would only be completed around 2045. "A faster approach would be to focus more on individual automation projects without undertaking full-scale reconstruction. The government has followed this path by approving an Action Plan to Increase Rail Safety in December 2025," noted UHP. In combination with modernisations, the Bratislava–Kosice corridor could be fully automated and equipped with ETCS by 2035, and the remaining lines by 2050, said UHP. "Under this scenario, automation alone would, however, require reallocating an average of €96 million from available resources annually," warned UHP. ko/df