Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko
| Formerly | Železnice Slovenskej republiky |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Government of Slovakia |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Slovakia |
| Revenue | 380,019,000 euro (2017) |
| −4,045,000 euro (2017) | |
| Total assets | 984,870,000 euro (2017) |
Number of employees | 5952 (2017) |
| Website | zssk.sk |
The Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (English: The Railway Company of Slovakia) is a Slovak state-owned passenger train company based in Bratislava.
Until the Treaty of Trianon, the area that is now Slovakia was part of Hungary, and so the railway network there was owned by the Hungarian Royal State Railways. After 1920 the management of these railway lines was transferred to the Czechoslovak State Railways (ČSD).
The independent Slovak railway was first established in 1993 under the name Železnice Slovenskej republiky (ŽSR). In 2002, the company was split, creating Železničná spoločnosť a.s., which took over passenger and freight transport, while ŽSR has since been responsible only for the railway infrastructure.
In 2005, Železničná spoločnosť a.s. was also divided. The company dealing with passenger transport became Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko a.s. (ZSSK), while freight transport was assigned to Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia a.s. (ŽSSK Cargo).
Lines
Of its 3,480 km standard gauge railway network, 1,578 km (45%) are electrified. A unique feature is that the northern half of its lines operate with 3,000 V DC, while the southern part uses 25 kV 50 Hz AC. As a result, three types of traction vehicles operate on ŽSSK lines: DC vehicles (usually painted green), AC vehicles (red), and dual-system vehicles (blue).