About this journey

Bratislava is the starting point of Line 120, a double-tracked, electrified railway running north toward Žilina on a 25 kV, 50 Hz traction system. The corridor has deep roots: the section through Pezinok follows the alignment of one of Slovakia's earliest railways, an animal-traction horse railway whose first section opened in 1840. Steam traction replaced horse power on this corridor on 1 May 1873, operated by the Považie railway company. More recently, Pezinok station was modernised with reconstruction of four tracks, new at-grade platforms, an underpass beneath the rails, and updated electrical wiring, part of an EU-funded programme.

Žilina station, at the northern end of the run, opened on 8 January 1871 with the inauguration of the Český Těšín–Žilina section of the Košice–Bohumín Railway. Today it is a significant junction where Line 120 meets Line 180, the Košice–Žilina railway, the two lines together forming Slovakia's main east–west rail corridor. Both lines are part of Pan-European Corridor Va, which connects Venice to Kyiv via Bratislava, Žilina, and Košice. The journey from the Slovak capital to Žilina thus moves from a corridor shaped by nineteenth-century horse railways and early steam operation to one of Central Europe's principal international rail axes.