Transport in Bratislava

__NOTOC__Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic. [cite web | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica | url = http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9273337/Bratislava,-Slovakia | title = Bratislava in Encyclopædia Britannica | date = 2007 | accessdate = April 30 | accessyear = 2007] [cite web | publisher = City of Bratislava | url = http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1088&p1=1800 | title = MIPIM 2007 - Other Segments | date = 2007 | accessdate = April 30 | accessyear = 2007] Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed territory of today Bratislava. Today Bratislava is the road, railway, waterway and airway hub.cite web | publisher = City of Bratislava | url = http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1047&p1=1815 | title = Transport and Infrastructure | date = 2007 | accessdate = 12 June | accessyear = 2007]

Road

The city is a large international motorway junction: The D1 motorway connects Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond, while the D2 motorway, going in the north-south direction, connects it to Prague, Brno and Budapest in the north-south direction. The D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which would ease the pressure on the city highway system, is mostly at the planning stage.

The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007. [cite web | publisher = Pravda | url = http://www.tvojepeniaze.sk/do-viedne-uz-netreba-ist-po-okresnej-ceste-fgy-/sk_pludia.asp?c=A071119_072754_sk_pludia_p01 | title = Do Viedne už netreba ísť po okresnej ceste | date = 2007 | accessdate = November 19 | accessyear = 2007 | language = Slovak]

Currently, five bridges stand over the Danube (ordered by the flow of the river): Lafranconi Bridge, Nový Most, Starý most, Most Apollo and Prístavný most.

The city's inner network of roadways is made on the radial-circular shape. Nowadays, Bratislava experiences a sharp increase in the road traffic, increasing pressure on the road network. There are about 200,000 registered cars in Bratislava, what is approximately 2 inhabitants per one car.

Rail

The first railway in the whole Kingdom of Hungary was built in 1840, when a horse-drawn railway was built to Svätý Jur and later extended into Trnava and Sereď in 1846 (the track was converted for steam trains in the 1870s). [cite web | publisher = Slovak ministry of transport, post and telecommunications | url = http://www.telecom.gov.sk/externe/znamky/1996/96104e.html | title = The Bratislava-Trnava Horse-drawn Railway | accessdate = 12 June | accessyear = 2007] Steam traction was introduced in 1848, with a link to Vienna and in 1850 with a link to Budapest.

Today, Bratislava is a railway hub, with 6 railway directions ( to Břeclav , Trnava , Galanta , Komárno , Hegyeshalom and Parndorf ) coming to the city.The Main railway station lies at the edge of Old Town, with lines connecting it to Košice via northern Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and southern Slovakia.Another notable railway station is the Petržalka railway station, connecting Bratislava with Austria. There are also many suburban stations: Devínske Jazero, Devínska Nová Ves, Lamač, Železná studienka , Vinohrady, Rača, Východ, Vajnory, Predmestie, Rusovce, Nové Mesto, Podunajské Biskupice, ÚNS and cancelled stations Devínska Nová Ves zastávka, Filiálka, Slovany, Nivy, Vrakuňa, Kopčany, Jarovce, Čunovo and Petržalka-Most.

Air

Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport, named after General Milan Rastislav Štefánik and also called Bratislava Airport ("Letisko Bratislava"), is the main international airport in Slovakia. It is located 9 kilometres (5.59 mi) north-east of the city centre. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used. The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years; it served 279,028 passengers in 2000, 1,937,642 in 2006 and 2,024,142 in 2007. [cite web | publisher = Letisko M.R. Štefánika - Airport Bratislava | url = http://www.airportbratislava.sk/31.html | title = Letisko Bratislava - O letisku - Štatistické údaje ("Airport Bratislava - About airport - Statistical data") | date = 2008 | accessdate = January 19 | accessyear = 2008]

River

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna and elsewhere.

Public transport

Public transportation in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as "Mestská hromadná doprava" (MHD, Municipal Mass Transit). The history of public transportation in Bratislava began in 1895, with the opening of the first tram route. [cite web | publisher = Dopravný podnik Bratislava | url = http://www.dpb.sk/Zhistorie/Zhistorie.htm | title = Z histórie (History) | date = 2004 | accessdate = 17 May | accessyear = 2007 | language = Slovak]

The system uses three main types of vehicles. Buses cover almost the entire city and go to the most remote boroughs and areas, with 60 daily routes, 20 night routes and other routes on certain occasions. Trams (streetcars) cover 13 heavily-used commuter routes, except for Petržalka.Trolleybuses serve as a complementary means of transport, with 13 routes.cite web | publisher = Dopravný podnik Bratislava | url = http://www.dpb.sk/trasy/trasy.htm | title = Trasy liniek (routes) | date = 2007 | accessdate = 17 May | accessyear = 2007 | language = Slovak] [cite web | publisher = Dopravný podnik Bratislava | url = http://www.dpb.sk/aktuality/Info/nv_od_01072007.htm | title = Pilotný projekt nočných liniek MHD od 1. júla 2007 | date = 2007 | accessdate = 26 July | accessyear = 2007 | language = Slovak] An additional service, Bratislava Integrated Transport ("Bratislavská integrovaná doprava"), links train and bus routes in the city with points beyond.

Transport junctions include Trnavské mýto, Račianske mýto, Patrónka, main rail station, and others.

References

External links

* [http://www.dpb.sk/ Official site of the municipal mass transit]
* [http://www.imhd.sk/ Unofficial site of the municipal mass transit]
* [http://www.rail.sk/arp/slovakia/ba/zelmapba.htm Railmap of the city]