SLOVAKIA: As the latest stage of an electrification conversion programme approved in 2005, infrastructure manager ŽSR has changed the 3 kV DC overhead electrification to 25 kV 50 Hz on a further section of the Bratislava – Žilina – Košice main line (Corridor V).
Work on the 17·9 km between Bytča (Predmier) and Žilina-Predmestie (Strážov) on the western outskirts of Žilina was completed in April.
The Púchov – Žilina route was originally electrified at 3 kV DC in October 1960, but the 27 km Púchov – Bytča section was switched over to AC in June 2024.
After the completion of modernisation work on the junction at Žilina, which is now due to switch to AC traction in early 2026, the next sections of main line to be converted will be those from Žilina to Vrútky and Kysucké Nové Mesto.
