Slovakia to grant protected status to train drivers

The Slovak Ministry of Transport is preparing legislative amendments to grant locomotive drivers and train conductors protected status. This designation, currently held by professions such as teachers and healthcare workers, ensures that attacks against them are punished more severely, similar to assaults on police officers.

The decision follows a rise in violence against railway staff. Statistics show 43 such attacks occurred in Slovakia last year, with 31 cases already recorded this year. Recent incidents include attacks on drivers in Martin and Nové Zámky within a single week.

Transport Minister Jozef Ráz stated that the government must act firmly against such behavior, noting that over seventy railway workers have been attacked in less than two years. In response to the trend, the state railway company ZSSK has increased cooperation with railway police and expanded private security patrols on high-risk routes.