Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia

Environmental Statistics Division / Transport, Tourism and Information Society Statistics Section

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
Litostrojska 54,
POB 3570,
1001 LJUBLJANA
SLOVENIA

Freight Transport covers the transport of goods in wagons and the transport of loaded and empty intermodal transport units - conducted by domestic as well as foreign railway undertakings. Railway undertakings which operate entirely within industrial and similar installations are excluded. For example, transport operations on company property or within ports are not recorded.  

Passenger transport covers the transport of passengers by the domestic railway undertaking, which is the only railway passenger operator in Slovenia.

There are no railway undertakings in passenger transport within industrial and similar installations as well as railway undertakings which would mainly provide local tourist services. Also there are no metro, light rails and tram systems in Slovenia.

The data collection follows the provisions of the following legal acts:

National level:

• National Statistics Act – ZDSta (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 45/95 of 4 August 1995); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 45/95))

• Act Amending the National Statistics Act – ZDSta-A (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 9/01 of 9 February 2001); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 9/01))

• Annual Programme of Statistical Surveys for each year ;(Letni program statističnih raziskovanj (LPSR))

European level:

Mandatory data collection at EU level is based on legal act, the Regulation EU 2018/643 and covers goods and passengers.
Data is collected as following:

• Annex I (annual data) –goods transport ,
• Annex II (annual data)–passenger transport,
• Annex III – (quarterly data) goods and passengers,
• Annex IV and V( data every five years) regional statistics on goods and passengers and rail network and
• Annex VIII (annual data) goods and passengers transport for small undertakings.

Goods transported by rail are classified according to the 20 divisions of goods following the 'Standard Goods Classification for Transport Statistics 2007’ with effect from reference year 2008.

The codes of regions used in the region-to-region statistics are indicated in Regulation (EC) 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Railway undertakings providing transport of passengers or goods. Rail transport statistics relate to rail transport on Slovenian national territory. The participation of the related survey is obligatory.

The main concepts used in rail domain are:

Rail passenger means any person, excluding members of the train crew, who makes a trip by rail. For accident statistics, passengers trying to embark/disembark onto/from a moving train are included.
Passenger-km means the unit of measure representing the transport of one passenger by rail over a distance of one kilometer. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account.
Weight means the quantity of goods in tonnestones (1 000 kilograms). The weight to be taken into consideration includes, in addition to the weight of the goods transported, the weight of packaging and the tare weight of containers, swap bodies, pallets as well as road vehicles transported by rail in the course of combined transport operations. If the goods are transported using the services of more than one railway undertaking, when possible the weight of goods shall not be counted more than once.
Tonne-km means the unit of measure of goods transport which represents the transport of one tonne (1 000 kilograms) of goods by rail over a distance of one kilometer. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account.
Train means one or more railway vehicles hauled by one or more locomotives or railcars, or one railcar travelling alone, running under a given number or specific designation from an initial fixed point to a terminal fixed point. A light engine, that is to say, a locomotive travelling on its own, is not considered to be a train.
Train-km means the unit of measure representing the movement of a train over one kilometre. The distance used is the distance actually run, if available, otherwise the standard network distance between the origin and destination shall be used. Only the distance on the national territory of the reporting country shall be taken into account.

More details concerning the definitions can be found in the Regulation (EU) No 2018/643 of the European Parliament and of the Council on rail transport statistics, Article 3, but also in the Reference Manual on Rail transport statistics.

Statistical units for rail transport statistics are all railway stations.

Data on passenger and freight transport are collected from the railway undertakings operating at national territory within thresholds mentioned in the rail regulation.
Data on traffic are collected from infrastructure managers and railway undertakings.

Operational railway network on national territory.

Data on passengers and goods are covered from 2004 onwards.

Not applicable.

The volume and performance of rail freight traffic are measured in tonnes (mass) and tonne-kilometres. Passenger transport by rail is measured in the number of passengers and in passenger-kilometres. Information on the number of train kilometres is also available.
Traffic flows on the rail network are measured in number of trains - passenger, freight and others (optional)

The tables consist mostly of annual data. There are some tables providing quarterly and quinquennial (every five years) data.

According to the Rail regulation (EU) 2018/643 data is collected as following: Annual data
– Annex I –goods transport collected for a reference period of one year with a deadline for data transmission as 5 months after the reference periodreference period,
– Annex II –passenger transport, yearly data with eight months deadline after the end of reference period
– Annex III – quarterly data for goods and passengers with a deadline of three months after the end of the reference period,
– Annex IV and V data every five years on regional statistics on goods and passengers and rail network with deadline of 12 respectively 18 months after the end of reference period and
– Annex VIII goods and passengers transport for small undertakings with 5 respectively 8 months deadline after the end of reference period.

 The data collection follows the provisions of the following legal acts:

National level:

• National Statistics Act – ZDSta (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 45/95 of 4 August 1995); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 45/95))

• Act Amending the National Statistics Act – ZDSta-A (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 9/01 of 9 February 2001); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 9/01))

• Annual Programme of Statistical Surveys for each year ;(Letni program statističnih raziskovanj (LPSR))

European level:

Regulation (EU) No 2018/643 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 April 2018 on rail transport statistics (recast)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 332/2007 of 27 March 2007 on the technical arrangements for the transmission of railway transport statistics

Not applicable

National level:

•  National Statistics Act – ZDSta (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 45/95 of 4 August 1995); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 45/95))

• Act Amending the National Statistics Act – ZDSta-A (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 9/01 of 9 February 2001); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 9/01))

European level:

Regulation (EU) No 223/2009 on European Statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

The procedures with regard to statistical confidentiality follows:

•   the  Handbook on Statistical Disclosure Control (2010) and the Federal  Statistical Act.
•  National Statistics Act – ZDSta (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 45/95 of 4 August 1995); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 45/95))

• Act Amending the National Statistics Act – ZDSta-A (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia [Uradni list RS], No. 9/01 of 9 February 2001); (Zakon o državni statistiki (Uradni list RS, št. 9/01))

   

The data provided to Eurostat in the railway statistics data sets for Slovenia contain no confidential information.

In Slovenia freight transport statistics is published quarterly 90 days (3 months) after the reference quarter. Final annual data are published 150 days (5 months) after the reference year in a press release. Release dates are publicly available in the release calendar of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). In case of changes of release dates the release calendar is updated continually.

Annual passenger transport data are published 240 days (8 months) after the reference year in Slovenia. 

The release calendar is publicly available on the website of the NSI.

Main results of railway statistics are available free of charge to all users. More detailed results can be obtained with subscription. For special data requests alternative evaluations can be offered.

Next to the release calendar users are informed of the release of the annual press release if subscribed to the specific newsletter. At the release data rail transport statistics is available to all users at the same time.

Freight transport statistics is published quarterly 90 days (3 months) after the reference quarter. Final annual data are published 240 days (8 months) after the reference year.

Annual passenger transport data are published 240 days (8 months) after the reference year. 

Freight transport data are published 240 days (8 months) after the reference year in a press release. An example of the annual press release can be found under this link.

Passenger transport data are published 240 days (8 months) after the reference year. An example shows the following link.   

Publication of rail transport statistics is done through our website.

The results can be found in the SiStat database.

All published results are available free of charge.

 Not applicable.

No other access available for the results of rail transport statistics.

A Standard-documentation with Meta information (Definitions, comments, methods, quality) on Rail Transport Statistics is available at national level.

Data quality can be assessed as high. There is a set of validation rules concerning freight and passenger transport and quality checks put in place, which detect various types of issues. In case of any issues detected, the data providers are contacted to provide explanations or/and revise the data accordingly.

The system follows as far as possible the European Statistics Code of practice and Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical  System, more precisely Principle 4: Commitment to Quality:

Quality policy is defined and made available to the public. An organisational structure and tools are in place to deal with quality management. There are procedures in place to plan, monitor and improve the quality of the statistical processes. Procedures based on quality reporting are in place to internally monitor product quality. Results are analysed regularly and improving actions are undertaken, if needed (for example after obtaining annual summary results and mirror checks reports from Eurostat). There is a regular and thorough review of the key statistical outputs using also external experts where appropriate.

Moreover, in the framework of Statistical Office of the republic of Slovenia quality approach, Statistical Office has introduced standard quality reports (standard-documentation) to be produced and kept up-to-date for all statistics. The reports are based on the ESS definition of quality in statistics and follow the European standard quality report and provide users with information about the underlying concepts, definitions, methods used and the quality of the statistics (meta-information) in a standardised format.

Data quality can be assessed as high. There is a set of validation rules and quality checks put in place, which detect various types of issues. In case of any issues detected, the data providers are contacted to provide explanations or/and revise the data accordingly. Mirror checks and checks for the consistency over times are prepared and revised as well and the results are compared with the data published by the airport at their website.

Annually, Eurostat provides a data quality report with a summary of the main findings affecting quality as well as showing the solution adopted and the materiality of the existing differences. Mirror checks and checks for the consistency over times are prepared as well.

Next to the extensive plausibility checks, main strength include the completely automatic data transmission by the airports via XML and the excellent cooperation with the relevant departments of the railway companies. Timeliness and punctuality are very good.

If there are any inconsistencies Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia provides an explanation which is then included in the Country Specific Notes (CSNs) file available as an Annex to the Eurostat’s metadata.

The key users of air transport statistics collected according to the Regulation 2018/643 are:

• Ministry of Infrastructure
• Universities and research institutions
• Economic chambers and similar institutions
• Private users interested in rail freight and/or rail passenger transport statistics

Data of rail transport statistics provides an important basis for decision-making of politics, society and economy in the context of the development and promotion of transport projects.

There was no user survey especially on rail transport statistics data carried out so far but direct feedback from main users like the ministry of Infrastructure, universities or rail companies indicates a good level of satisfaction regarding data coverage and availability.

The data collection on rail transport statistics follows the provisions of the Regulation (EU) No 2018/643. All variables in the different data sets are provided.

Overall accuracy of the rail transport statistics data is good. The processing with several plausibility checks as well as checks done before transmitting data to Eurostat provides a high accuracy of the data.

Not relevant for rail transport data collection.

By working closely with the relevant departments of the railway undertakings, the various plausibility checks and the legal obligation to cooperate and report the data, misclassifications, under- or over-coverage can be excluded.

Micro and macro analysis and plausibility checks are used to avoid errors.

It might be in the future that foreign railway undertakings refuse to cooperate. Currently, all foreign railway undertakings provide the data required for the compilation of rail transport statistics.

All necessary data are collected and transmitted to Eurostat in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2018/643 within the specified transmission deadlines (see point 5 in this document).

All required data are transmitted to Eurostat within the specified transmission deadlines in accordance to the Regulation (EU) No 2018/643 (see point 5 in this document).

Data from different european countries can include information from detailed and simplified reportings concerning the transport of goods and passengers.

For reasons of data protection it might be that data of freight or passenger transport must not be disclosed. Confidential data are marked with a "c" when data sets are transmitted to Eurostat. That means that this kind of data cannot be published. If data are not allowed to be published, a comparison (mirror statistics) with collected data of other National Statistical Instituts cannot be done.

Detailed reporting concerning freight transport or passenger transport (aggregated and anonymised) with an annual transport performance of at least 200 million tonne-kilometres or at least 500 000 tonnes (freight transport) respectively at least 100 million passenger kilometres (passenger transport) must be provided to Eurostat. For railway undertakings whose annual transport volume or transport performance is less than the mentioned thresholds (simplified reporting), detailed reporting is not necessary. If the countries to be compared collect data of all railway undertakings operating on their national territories a comparison might be possible if those data are published by Eurostat’s database.

There are no breaks in rail transport statistics data time series for Slovenia.

A comparison of rail freight transport statistics with other transport statistics based on the territoriality principle is possible. Rail freight transport statistics and road freight transport statistics are under certain conditions comparable, although rail freight transport statistics are based on the principle of territoriality and road freight statistics are based on the nationality principle.

Comparisons with other transport statistics are only partially and to a limited extent possible with regard to freight transport and passenger transport, since data are currently not available or are not collected at the same level of detail and also different methods and underlying objectives.

Data on passengers and goods are covered from 2004 onwards. The rail transport statistics data sets collected and provided to Eurostat for Slovenia are consistent.

The response burden is out on the railway undertakings, but is reduced to a minimum. Respondents are only contacted if plausibility errors cannot be solved by the National Statistical Institute.

Current results on rail freight and passenger transport statistics are published in the statistical SiStat database quarterly and annually.

In case of any data change in the statistics after the results were published, the public is informed by an official notice (in case of the change to the Press Release) or footnotes (in case of pdf-publications or on-line tables).

The policy described in 17.1 is fully implemented.

Passenger and freight transport: Domestic and foreign railway undertakings 

Data concerning train movements by network segment: main railway operator

The required data concerning the Regulation (EU) 2018/643 are collected:

• quarterly and yearly (freight transport, passenger transport of certain railway undertakings),
• yearly (passenger transport of certain railway undertakings and operating performances of rail vehicles) and
• at five-yearly intervals (train movements by network segments)

See point 5 in this document.

Data are collected via Excel forms or individually designed datasets containing all necessary information to comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2018/643 are transmitted. The transmission is possible via SFTP interface or via e-mail.

In general incoming data are checked for completeness, subjected to an extensive plausibility check and - if necessary - corrected manually.

The reports of each individual railway undertaking are compared in detail with the results of previous years as part of the macro plausibility checks, examined for anomalies and the changes are documented. On the basis of the available data  can check whether the reported freight transport data are consistent. In the event of ambiguities, the responsible railway undertaking is contacted so that any questionable data can be corrected if necessary.

Incoming information on passenger transport and operating performances is checked for completeness. In addition, the reports of each individual railway undertaking are compared in detail with the values of previous years and examined for anomalies. In case of uncertainty, the individual source of data (see point 18.1 of this document) will be contacted and questionable information corrected when necessary.

Information from the network operators concerning train movements by network segments cannot be verified. However, it can be assumed that the reporting operators prepare their reports to the best of their knowledge and that they do not knowingly provide false information.

After the receipt of the individual data required for the compilation of the respective statistics, these shall be checked for completeness and plausibility and, if necessary, corrected before they are anonymised in order to comply with Regulation (EC) No 332/2007.

Not applicable for rail transport data collection.

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