Slovak Railways, Zvolen – Bánská Bystrica, Railway Line Electrification, Including the Programme of Power Saving

From the point of view of the territorial arrangement of the state, the Zvolen – Banská Bystrica construction, railway line electrification, including the Programme of Power Saving (pre-electrification adaptations) falls within the Banská Bystrica Region. The newly constructed rail route segment continues the electrified Šurany – Zvolen railway line. The basic part of the construction is an overhead contact line powered from the Banská Bystrica supply substation, which is connected to the Šurany – Zvolen railway line via the Zvolen switching station. The remote control of fixed electric supply facilities is operated from the Electrotechnology Control Centre in Zvolen by means of optic and metallic cables and in-built devices in the passenger buildings at individual railway stations.

The electrification required new station safety devices to be built at the Sliač and Banská Bystrica railway stations, adapted in Vlkanovo, Radvaň, Šálková and Kostiviarská railway stations as protection against the effects of power supplied from the overhead contact line. A trunk optic cable, including transmitting systems, was designed for the purposes of controlling the technological processes in the entire Zvolen- Banská Bystrica rail route segment. The heavy current distributors and electric heaters of rail switches were reconstructed (the Sliač and Banská Bystrica railway stations), the passenger and technological buildings (the Sliač, Vlkanová and Radvaň railway stations) were adapted, and new combined operational buildings (the Sliač and Banská Bystrica railway stations) were constructed during the construction project. The important adaptation works included the reconstruction of the railway bridge across the Hron River in the Banská Bystrica railway station. The profile grade of the rail on the bridge was elevated by about 50 cm to increase the clearance under the bridge for road traffic. The adaptation required a complex reconstruction of the “Zvolen”station gridiron at the Banská Bystrica railway station, with a partial adaptation of the platforms.