What ZSR does

ŽSR (Železnice Slovenskej republiky) is the state-owned railway infrastructure manager of the Slovak Republic, established on January 1, 1993 under Act No. 258/1993 Coll. following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The company manages and operates the entirety of Slovakia's national and regional railway infrastructure — including tracks across standard, broad, and narrow gauges, contact lines, tunnels, bridges, level-crossings, and 768 railway stations — and provides non-discriminatory access to licensed passenger and freight operators under statutory mandate. ŽSR is headquartered in Bratislava with regional directorates in Košice, Trnava, Zvolen, and Žilina.

The company's core technology stack comprises signaling systems, telecommunications networks, electrification and energy distribution systems, and traffic control systems. Customer-facing digital products include the real-time Train Location Map (mapa.zsr.sk) with color-coded delay indicators and the Connection Search timetable system (tis.zsr.sk). ŽSR operates twelve wholly-owned internal divisions covering specialized functions: railway telecommunications, power engineering and energy trading, research and development, training and psychological assessment, asset management, logistics and procurement, geodetic surveying, and bridge administration.

ŽSR's revenue is generated primarily through regulated infrastructure access charges levied on railway undertakings (ZSSK for passenger, ZSSK CARGO for freight, and private operators RegioJet, LEO Express, and Arriva), supplementary unit-priced services (e.g., EUR 21.60/hour for additional services to external parties), ancillary commercial services (telecommunications, energy distribution), and government/EU capital grants for modernization. Notable ongoing strategic initiatives include ERTMS deployment and the Nižná Myšľa–Ruskov track reconstruction, funded in part through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Name

ZSR

Legal name

Železnice Slovenskej republiky

Website

https://zsr.sk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

ŽSR is the state-owned railway infrastructure manager of Slovakia, operating 768 stations and the full national rail network under a legal monopoly. It provides regulated track access to passenger and freight operators (ZSSK, RegioJet, LEO Express, Arriva) and ancillary telecommunications, energy, and R&D services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Infrastructure Management

NAICS

Rail Transportation (48211)

SIC

Railroads, Line-Haul Operating (4011)

akta.pro primary industry

Rail Maintenance-of-Way (MOW) Equipment & Services (Tamping, Grinding, Renewal) (TLAJADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Rail Maintenance-of-Way & Possession/Work Window Coordination (Operational Control) (TLAJAEAI)

Keywords

• Railway infrastructure management
• Rail network operations
• Freight rail services
• Passenger rail transport
• Railway station management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bratislava

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ŽSR is the state-owned railway infrastructure manager of Slovakia, established in 1993. It operates the national rail network and manages 768 railway stations, providing infrastructure access to passenger and freight railway operators. The company also operates subsidiaries covering telecommunications, energy, education, and R&D that support rail operations.

Product overview

ŽSR (Železnice Slovenskej republiky) is the state railway infrastructure manager of Slovakia, providing railway infrastructure management, traffic control, and related services. The core offerings include the Train Location Map (real-time train tracking with delay visualization) and Connection Search (timetable-based journey planning). Supporting services include Railway Telecommunications (data, voice, internet, data center services), Railway Power Engineering (electricity distribution and trading), the Central Institute for Education and Psychology (training and psychological assessment), the Railway Research and Development Centre (testing, certification, and diagnostics), and Service Facilities Management. Major modernization projects (such as the Nižná Myšľa–Ruskov reconstruction) and ERTMS implementation initiatives are ongoing. An e-shop for merchandise is under development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rail infrastructure access services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Rail Cargo OperatorminorOthersService facility operator providing rail freight services at Bratislava ÚNS, Žilina, and Košice locations
• Slovenská plavba a prístavy (Budamar Logistics)minorOthersService facility operator at Bratislava ÚNS, providing logistics and shipping services
• Terminal ŽilinaminorOthersTerminal operator at Žilina-Teplička providing intermodal and logistics services
• BULK TRANSSHIPMENT SLOVAKIA, a. s.minorOthersTerminal operator at Dobrá providing combined transport terminal services
• Metrans (Terrminál Košice)minorOthersTerminal operator at Košice providing intermodal transport services
• Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. (ZSSK)coreOthersPassenger transport operator using ŽSR infrastructure; key customer and partner for passenger rail services
• Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia, a.s. (ZSSK CARGO)coreOthersFreight transport operator using ŽSR infrastructure; key customer and partner for rail freight services
• RegioJet, a.s.coreOthersPrivate passenger rail operator providing rail services on selected routes in Slovakia
• LEO Express, a.s.coreOthersPrivate passenger rail operator providing rail services in Slovakia
• Arriva Service s.r.o.coreOthersPassenger transport operator providing rail services, part of international transport group
• NAFTA a.s. BratislavaminorOthersService facility operator providing exploration and extraction services
• ŽOS TrnavaminorOthersRailway repair and manufacturing services provider
• Železničné opravovne a strojárne Zvolen, a.s.minorOthersRailway repair and engineering services provider in Zvolen
• ŽOS VrútkyminorOthersRailway repair and services provider
• European Commission (Recovery and Resilience Facility)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU funding source through Slovakia's Recovery and Resilience Plan for railway modernization projects

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ADIF: Spanish state-owned rail infrastructure administrator managing conventional and high-speed networks. Comparable state-owned infrastructure manager mandate with EU-funded modernization and non-discriminatory access framework.
• ProRail: Dutch state-owned rail infrastructure manager with a comparable non-discriminatory access mandate and sophisticated real-time traffic management systems. Often cited as a benchmark for European rail infrastructure efficiency.
• MÁV (Hungarian State Railways): Hungarian state-owned rail group covering both infrastructure and operations. Comparable Central European state railway with overlapping passenger/freight operators and EU-funded modernization programs on a neighboring network.
• RFI - Rete Ferroviaria Italiana: Italian state-owned rail infrastructure manager, subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato. Comparable infrastructure mandate, ERTMS rollout program, and relationship with multiple passenger/freight operators on a national network.
• ÖBB-Infrastruktur: Austrian state-owned rail infrastructure division operating the ÖBB network. Comparable in mandate (infrastructure management, capacity allocation, ERTMS rollout) and adjacent geographically, with strong cross-border freight interconnections via ŽSR.
• Infrabel: Belgian state-owned rail infrastructure manager with similar regulatory separation from operators and dense network characteristics. Provides a comparable model for capacity allocation and infrastructure charging.
• SNCF Réseau: French national rail infrastructure manager within the SNCF group, managing one of Europe's largest networks. Comparable role in capacity allocation, maintenance, and modernization under EU technical specifications.
• Správa železnic: Czech state railway infrastructure manager that was split from the same parent (ČSD) as ŽSR in 1993. Operates a near-identical mandate managing Czech rail infrastructure, providing access to operators, and modernizing track under EU-funded programs — the closest structural twin to ŽSR.
• PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PKP PLK): Polish state railway infrastructure manager responsible for the largest national rail network in the CEE region. Comparable mandate for track access, ERTMS deployment, and EU-funded modernization, with similar separation from operating entities.
• DB InfraGO (formerly DB Netz): German state-owned rail infrastructure manager operating Europe's largest national network. Shares the same infrastructure-manager role, regulated access regime, and ERTMS/数字化 modernization agenda as ŽSR at a much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hovorcazsr6401
• Facebookfacebook.com/zelezniceslovenskejrepubliky
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/railways-of-the-slovak-republic
• Instagraminstagram.com/zeleznice_slovenskejrepubliky

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZSR