The Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr Janez Janša, together with the Minister of Transport, Mr Radovan Žerjav; the Minister of the Economy, Mr Andrej Vizjak; and the Minister of Finance, Dr Andrej Bajuk, today visited the Slovenian railway company - Slovenske železnice (SŽ), where the Prime Minister had separate meetings with the management and with the company's trade union representatives. This visit – the first visit by a Prime Minister to Slovenian Railways since Slovenian independence – focused in particular on the company’s visions for development.
PM Janez Janša and ditector general of Slovenian Railways Tomaž Schara (Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)
By way of introduction, the management of Slovenian Railways informed the Prime Minister and the Ministers about the company’s current business operations, which had been yielding positive results for some time. After the meeting, PM Janša said that the company’s situation had improved considerably compared to the past, when resolving problems had required a great deal of attention. “For the first time, we have reached a point where it is realistic to start talking about our visions for development. But we are pleased, most of all, that Slovenian Railways’ management is identifying a number of development and business opportunities within the existing framework, which do not call for huge additional investment,” he added, noting that Slovenian Railways had become considerably more efficient in recent years. “Although Slovenian Railways are placed around the European average in terms of overall efficiency, they are highly placed for freight transport.”
Meeting with the management of Slovenian Railways (Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)
The current Government has included the modernisation of the railway network among its national development projects. Financially, it is the Slovenian State’s most demanding future project. “In order to implement it, cooperation with a European strategic partner seems highly likely,” specified Mr Janša and promised that the relevant procedure would be quite transparent and the selection made in accordance with the strategic interests of the State. “There will not, however, be a sell-off or – as some have speculated – a complete privatisation of Slovenian Railways, especially not of railway infrastructure,” stressed the Prime Minister. In this connection, he expected that some key steps and decisions would already be taken on strategic links during the present Government’s term of office.
Meeting with the representatives of the company’s trade unions (Photo: Bor Slana/Bobo)
Slovenian Railways’ strategic plans were also discussed at a meeting with the representatives of the company’s trade unions, who, according to the Prime Minister, did not express any particular reservations in this regard since plans of this kind strengthen the business outlook, bringing the prospect of new job opportunities and higher wages. The Slovenian Prime Minister further highlighted the very constructive role played by the trade unions. “In recent years, the number of employees at Slovenian Railways has been reduced by a third. This has been achieved in a sensitive and socially acceptable way, without any harsh shocks and without unsettling or demotivating the company’s employees,” said PM Janez Janša.
The Prime Minister, together with the government ministers, also gave Slovenian Railways’ management an outline of the future role of railway transport, especially in the light of environmental requirements and the energy and climate package recently proposed by the European Commission. “Shifting passengers and, in particular, freight from road to rail remains one of Slovenia’s key priorities for the future,” affirmed the Prime Minister.
