Transport in Slovenia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Railways

total:
1,229 km operated by Slovenian Railways

standard gauge:
1,229 km gauge (electrified 503,5 km) (2004)

Railway links with adjacent countries

Italy - yes Croatia - yes Hungary - yes Austria - yes

Roads

total:
20,155 km

paved:
18,381 km (including 504 km of expressways)

unpaved:
1,774 km (2004 est.)

Roads in Slovenia are under the auspices of the Slovenian Roads Agency, a body within the Ministry of Transport. The basic two categories are:

state roads
- highways (see below)
municipal roads

According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia is an independent Slovenian state institution in charge of official statistical surveying. It is responsible directly to the Prime Minister of Slovenia...

, there were recorded in 2007:

6,476 kilometres of state roads
32,233 kilometres of municipal roads

Highways

The first highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

in Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

, the A1

A1 motorway (Slovenia)

The A1 motorway is 236,1 km long, connecting Šentilj and Koper/Capodistria . It passes several important Slovenian cities, including Maribor, Celje and Ljubljana all the way to the Slovenian Littoral and Koper, with its important port.Construction began in 1970 and the first section was...

, was opened in 1972. It connects Vrhnika

Vrhnika

Vrhnika is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It is situated on the Ljubljanica River, 21 km from Ljubljana along the A1 motorway.-History:...

and Postojna

Postojna

Postojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...

. Constructed under the liberal minded government of Stane Kavčič their development plan envisioned a modern highway network spanning Slovenia and connecting the republic to Italy

Transport in Italy

- Railways :Italian railway system has a length of , of which standard gauge and electrified.The narrow gauge tracks are: of gauge ; of gauge .-High speed trains:*Turin-Milan...

and Austria

Transport in Austria

This article provides an overview of the transportation infrastructure in the country of Austria.- Railways :total: 6,123 km standard gauge: 5,639 km gauge ....

. After the liberal fraction of the Communist Party of Slovenia was deposed, expansion of the Slovenian highway network came to a halt. In the 90s the new country started the 'National Programme of Highway Construction', effectively re-using the old communist plans. Since then about 400 km of motorways, expressway

Limited-access road

A limited-access road known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a controlled-access highway , including limited or no access to adjacent...

s and similar roads have been completed, easing automotive transport across the country and providing a strong road service between eastern and western Europe. This has provide a boost to the national economy, encouraging the development of transportation and export industries.

There are two types of highways in Slovenia. Avtocesta (abbr. AC) are dual carriage way motorways with a speed limit

Speed limit

Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...

of 130 km/h. They have green road signs as in Italy, Croatia and other countries. A hitra cesta (HC) is a secondary road also a dual carriageway but without a hard shoulder for emergencies. They have a speed limit of 110 km/h and have blue road signs.

Since the 1st June 2008 highway users in Slovenia have been required to buy a vignette

Vignette (road tax)

A road tax vignette is a form of tax on vehicles, used in several non-English speaking European countries. The term is of French origin, and is now used throughout Central Europe....

. This system was investigated by the EU Commission that it was unfair upon holiday makers and other non Slovenian users of the highway system. On 28 January 2010, after short-term vignettas were introduced by Slovenia and some other changes were made to the Slovenian vignette system, the European Commission concluded that the vignette system is in accordance with the European law.

According to the Slovenian Motorway Company Act valid since December 2010, the construction and building of highways in Slovenia is carried out and financed by private companies, primarily the Motorway Company in the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , acronym DARS), while the strategic planning and the acquisition of land for their course is carried out and financed by the Government of Slovenia

Government of Slovenia

The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is the cabinet that excersises executive authority in Slovenia pursuant to the Constitution and the laws of Slovenia. It is also the highest administrative authority in Slovenia. It comprises the Prime Minister and 15 ministers, three of them without...

. The highways are owned by DARS.

Ports and harbours

The Port of Koper

Port of Koper

Port of Koper is a public limited company, which provides port and logistics services in the only Slovenian port, in Koper. It is situated in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea, connecting mainly markets of Central and Southeast Europe with the Mediterranean Sea...

was established in 1957 and opened to international trade in 1958. The port has since been much expanded, and in 2007 more than 15 million tonnes of cargo passed through it. Making it the second biggest port in the North Eastern Adriatic after Port of Trieste and before Rijeka

Rijeka

Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...

.

Further development and expansion of the port in Koper now depends largely on the construction of the third pier and on the opening of a second rail track between Koper and the Slovene rail network to ease the transport of goods from the port to the rest of Slovenia and Europe. This work still needs to be announced by the national government and local authorities, with whom the provision of theses new facilities largely rests.

There are small fishing harbours in Koper, Izola

Izola

Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...

and Piran

Piran

Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...

and three marinas in Koper (Marina Koper), Izola (Marina Izola) and Lucija (Marina Portorož).

History

Until the end of World War I the main Austrian imperial

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

Port of Trieste

The Free Port of Trieste, is an Italian port on North Adriatic Sea in Trieste, Italy.It is subdivided into 5 different Free Areas, 3 of which have been allotted to commercial activities:*the Old Free Area...

was the main port serving Slovenia. As the city stood was surrounded by territory that was largely inhabited by Slovenes and in the city itself, the population was around a third Slovene. It was hoped by Slovenian and Yugoslav

Yugoslavs

Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...

nationalists, that following World War I, it would, based on Wilson's

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

14 points, form a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. However, the city was granted to Italy and due to its largely Italian population remains so to this day. After World War II, and the 1954 London Memorandum sealed the Italian status of Trieste, the Slovenian and Yugoslav Federal

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

governments were forced to give up their claims on the city. They decided therefore to build a new port in Koper.

Airports

Slovenia has 3 international airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

s of any note. Ljubljana airport is by far the busiest airport in the country with connections to many major European destinations. More than 1,5 million passengers pass through per annum and 22,000 tonnes of cargo is moved per year. The second largest international airport

Maribor Airport

Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport is the second biggest airport in Slovenia, serving the city of Maribor. It is located south of the Maribor railway station, near Slivnica...

serves Maribor. However, this has struggled since Slovenian independence due to economic changes in the Maribor region. Only 30,000 passengers passed through in 2007. There is also a small international airport

Portorož Airport

-Airport Services:Although relatively small, a wide-variety of services are offered at Portorož Airport:modern airport facilities including technical and fuel service, services under contract , panoramic flights, business charter flights, a flight school, parachute jumping, minibus transfer, a...

in Sečovlje

Secovlje

Sečovlje is a settlement in the Municipality of Piran in the Littoral region of Slovenia.-Overview:This is the last Slovenian settlement before the Slovenia-Croatia border. This village was once the centre of Slovenian salt production, now its main source of income is tourism at the Sečovlje...

on the Slovene littoral, near the resort town of Portorož

Portorož

- External links :**...

, which only serves small private aircraft.

Airports:
15 (2004)

Airstrips:
44 (2004)

Airports - with paved runways

total:
6

over 3,047 m:
1

2,438 to 3,047 m:
1

1,524 to 2,437 m:
1

914 to 1,523 m:
2

under 914 m:
1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total:
8

1,524 to 2,437 m:
2

914 to 1,523 m:
2

under 914 m:
4 (2004 est.)