Outgoing government failed in liberalizing rail transport
The outgoing government failed in liberalizing rail transport. In 2016, it canceled the tender for running trains on the important Bratislava-Banská Bystrica line, and now just the state carrier ŽS Slovensko remains in the tender for the small line Žilina-Rajec. The Transport Ministry excluded Czech carrier Leo Express from the tender and Arriva gave up as the Ministry provided too short a time for submitting bids. The Ministry is yet to declare whether a new tender will be called or ŽS Slovensko will get a 10-year contract. The SNS party was the key opponent of the liberalization.
