Slovak Railways to Expand Security Staff on Trains From October

Slovak railway operator ZSSK (Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko) will increase the number of private security guards on regional trains to nine from October 1, expanding a deployment of six guards that began on September 21, in response to repeated vandalism and aggressive behavior toward staff and passengers.¹²³

Repeated incidents

ZSSK recorded hundreds of vandalism cases in the first half of 2026, with damages amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros, according to the company. Depot manager Marián Surmík said stone-throwing into trains occurs roughly one to two times a month on the Poprad route.¹²³

Train conductors described repeated confrontations with passengers. Sylvia Capeková, who works on the Lipany line, said: "Pri poslednom incidente mi neprispôsobiví občania vulgárne nadávali pred nastupujúcimi cestujúcimi...Takéto situácie znamenajú pre vlakový personál veľký psychický tlak." She added that colleagues and passengers now seek seats near staff out of fear: "Kolegovia aj cestujúci sa boja už cestovať, a preto aj vo vlaku si hľadajú miesta blízko nás."¹²

Conductor Sylvia Marcinčinová said the difficulty of responding to incidents is compounded by staff positioning on trains: "Keď sa incident stane na konci vlaku a ja som na začiatku, nestihnem pomôcť ani cestujúcemu." She reported an incident in which children aged seven to eight were found searching through a sleeping passenger's belongings.¹²³

Expanded security deployment

ZSSK deployed six workers from a private security service on regional trains from September 21 and plans to raise that number to nine from October 1. The guards will operate on routes where the company repeatedly records aggressive or unlawful behavior, supplementing existing measures such as police cooperation, camera systems and body cameras used by staff.¹²³

Reports on the plan indicate the guards will be stationed across five routes: Prešov to Lipany, Košice to Moldava nad Bodvou, Poprad-Tatry to Kežmarok, Zvolen to Levice, and Bratislava to Malacky.⁵⁴

Police increased patrols on personal trains and stepped up surveillance at Lipany station, and ZSSK began monitoring the station with a drone. Regional police director Martin Bednár said individual offenders face legal consequences: "V daných prípadoch, ak máme priestupcov, tak vyvodíme aj tú právnu zodpovednosť." He said police coordinate prevention efforts with municipal authorities: "V rámci prevencie realizujeme viacero policajných akcií...spolupracujeme v danej oblasti aj s mestskou políciou Lipany."¹²³

Disputed damage figures

Surmík said replacing glass damaged by stone-throwing costs approximately 5,000 to 9,000 euros per incident, and that affected trains are taken out of service for two to three days. These figures appear in reporting from three outlets but are not confirmed by all sources covering the story.¹²

Surmík described specific incidents of damage: "Mali sme aj prípady, keď pri otvorených dverách nahádzali skaly priamo do vlaku, poškodili vnútornú výplň a ohrozili cestujúcich."¹