Consequences of floods in Slovenia for railway infrastructure and transport

First estimates arrived of total damage on railway infrastructure and its objects and capacities due to unrecorded floods that hit Slovenia during the past weeks.

Collapse of basic infrastructure elements and trackbeds, as well as flooding and damage on railway station buildings, sheds and warehouses was detected on ¾ of total railway network in Slovenia. First estimates say that it will take up to 6-12 months for the most endangered points on which the railway infrastructure is irrevocably damaged or destroyed be repaired or reconstructed.

Apart from infrastructure, significant damage was suffered by locomotives, rolling stock, EMUs and DMUs that were caught on the critical points during the flooding.

Rough estimates on the funding needed for revitalization of flooded infrastructure and damaged railway vehicles for now amount to at least 105 mil EUR, however, considering that the information from the field is still coming in and being analyzed it is realistic to expect significantly higher funds for repair of damage and renewal of railway infrastructure and vehicles.