Transport in Slovenia
The location at the junction of the Mediterranean, the Alps, the Dinarides and the Pannonian Plain and the area being traversed by major rivers have been the reasons for the intersection of the main transport routes in Slovenia.
[1] The existing Slovenian rails, which were mostly built in the 19th century, are out-of-date and can't compete with the motorway network.
[2] The maintenance and modernisation of the Slovenian railway network has been neglected due to the lack of financial assets, creating bottlenecks.
[3] Electrification is provided by a 3 kV DC system, except at the junctions with railways of foreign countries,[3] and covers 503.5 kilometres (312.9 mi).
[5] Due to the out-of-date infrastructure, the share of the railway freight transport has been in decline in Slovenia despite growing slightly in absolute terms.
[14] Till February 2012, a network consisting of 528 km (328 mi) of motorways, expressways and similar roads has been built.
[13] Its essential section,[14] the Slovenian Motorway Cross, which is part of the Trans-European Road network, was completed in October 2011.
[12] The newly built road system slowly, but steadily transforms Slovenia into a large conurbation and connects it as a unitary social, economic and cultural space, with links to neighbouring areas.
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 and Austria.
After the liberal fraction of the Communist Party of Slovenia was deposed, expansion of the Slovenian highway network came to a halt.
A hitra cesta (HC) is a secondary road also a dual carriageway but without a hard shoulder for emergencies.
After the war, the transport was organised by the Post Directorate of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, gradually joined by private operators.
[24] Today the bus traffic is the main means of public passenger transport in Slovenia, particularly in towns.
[29] It is about 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) closer to destinations east of the Suez than the ports of Northern Europe, and the land transport from Koper by road and by railway to the main industrial centres in Central Europe is approximately 500 kilometres (310 mi) shorter than from Northern European ports.
[35] The first regular flights in Slovenia were established in the 1930s when the Yugoslav flag-carrier Aeroput linked Ljubljana since 1933 with numerous domestic destinations such as Belgrade, Zagreb, Sušak and Borovo.
[42] In 1934 Aeroput opened the first international regular flight from Ljubljana linking it to Austrian city of Klagenfurt.
[44] It linked, along JAT, Ljubljana with numerous domestic and international destinations,[45] and even included, since 1965, charter flights to the United States.
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport in the central part of the country is by far the busiest,[47] with connections to many major European destinations.
Adria Airways was the largest Slovenian airline[47] until September 2019, when it declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations.
[12] The only Slovenian military airport is the Cerklje ob Krki Air Base near the Slovenia–Croatia border in the southwestern part of the country.
