Dear Sir or Madam,
The occasion for this initiative is my father's trip to Ljubljana yesterday, where he had a meeting. My father is retired and, because of some health problems, we suggested that he take the train. And indeed, there is a new connection from Murska Sobota to Ljubljana on the timetable, and according to the timetable, it should take about 2.5 hours. Great! But in practice it is not so. The train was 40 minutes late going there and an hour late coming back. The reason given to my father was that he had to wait in Ormož for another train.
This is not the way healthy people plan their business trips from Pomurje to Ljubljana, let alone elderly people with health problems.
I therefore propose as a matter of urgency that the railway infrastructure should finally be modernised to be similar to those in more developed EU countries, where public rail transport is the backbone of development.
I propose that a second track be built as soon as possible from Pragersko to the Hungarian border, or at least to Murska Sobota, and at the same time that bypass lines be built past the towns of Murska Sobota, Ljutomer, Ormož, Ptuj, which would be intended for transit freight traffic or for freight traffic to the industrial zones of these towns.
This would simultaneously free the towns from freight traffic and reduce the journey time from Pomurje to Maribor, Celje, Ljubljana and Koper to a comparable European level.
It is incomprehensible that, in 2017, a passenger train journey of 180 km takes three and a half hours, or more, and that on the European connection Budapest-Benetke. By comparison, a train in Austria covers roughly the same distance (or a little more) between Graz and Vienna in two and a half hours.
In the hope of understanding and in the hope that a solution can be found as soon as possible, I warmly welcome you!
Gorazd Tivadar
Lipovci, Beltinci