User Fee

Carriers must pay user fees for access to the public railway infrastructure. The user fee is used to cover part of the maintenance costs incurred by the public railway infrastructure operator.

The legal basis for setting and charging the user fee comprises the Railway Transport Act and the Decree on allocating train paths and levying user fees on the public railway infrastructure.

The cost of the user fee for accessing public railway infrastructure is determined based on the:

• costs of maintaining public railway infrastructure,

• length of the network of the public railway infrastructure used by the carrier,

• number of vehicles used by the carrier in the public railway infrastructure network,

• energy costs,

• train kilometers,

• gross ton kilometers,

• type of vehicles used by the carrier in the network,

• duration time of using the network,

• train speed,

• transport direction,

• train category,

• quantity discounts.

The basic user fee covers the smallest range of services which provide access to public railway infrastructure, to which all applicants, i.e. carriers, who were allocated a train path are entitled. The smallest range of services comprises:

• processing the applications for the allocation of train paths,

• use of rails, railroad switches and crossings on the allocated train path,

• operating train traffic, including signaling, management, train dispatch, communication with the train, and providing information about train runs,

• other information necessary for providing or performing services for which the train path was allocated,

Applicants or carriers that have been allocated train paths must also have access via tracks to facilities and devices that support the use of:

• the power supply system for traction current, where available,

• refueling facilities,

• passenger train stations and stops, their buildings and other facilities or premises,

• freight loading stations and terminals,

• marshalling yards,

• train formation facilities,

• loading and unloading sidings,

• maintenance and other technical facilities.

The user fee for the smallest range of services providing access to public railway infrastructure, and access via rails to facilities necessary to provide railway services should not be higher than the costs incurred directly by performing an individual service, i.e. during the time of using said infrastructure.

The user fee and methodology for its calculation are determined by the Public Agency for Railway Transport of the Republic of Slovenia.

The methodology for calculating the user fee is published in the Network Statement of the public railway infrastructure operator.