Fast train? It's all relative in Slovakia | Banská Bystrica to Bratislava

I've had a great time exploring both the High and the Low Tatras, but today it is time to get the R838 Urpín to Bratislava. The "R" stands for "rýchlo", which is Slovak for "fast". As it turns out, this is probably the slowest fast train I've ever been on.

However, the seat was comfortable and the coach was beautifully turned out. And the Slovakian countryside, towns and stations were great to watch out of the window as we went along. So all in all, I had a pretty good ride.

Departure: Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Destination: Bratislava, Slovakia
Distance: 230 km / 143 miles
Duration: 3 hrs 46 mins
Cost: First class single ticket €16,00 / £14.10
Date of Travel: January 2023
Operator: ZSSK, Železničná spoločnost Slovensko
Motive power: ZSSK Class 861 2-car DMU. Built: ŽOS Vrútky (2019-2021)
ZSSK Class 362 electric locomotive Built: Škoda (1990)

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[ZemplinTemplar]

The "R" stands for "rýchlik", the Slovak term for "express train". ;-) If the station signs are bilingual, that means the municipality is bilingual, i.e. has a sizable percentage of minority language speakers among the locals. The oldest city in Slovakia, in terms of a city charter, is actually Trnava, dated to 1238, followed by Zvolen and Krupina (around 1238), Starý Tekov (1240), Spišské Vlachy (1243) Nitra (1248), Banská Štiavnica and Banská Bystrica (1255), Košice (before 1290), Nemecká Ľupča (1263), Komárno (1265), Kežmarok (1269), Gelnica (before 1270), Bratislava (1291, surprisingly late), Prešov, Sabinov, Veľký Šariš (1299), so all of these aready in the 13th century alone. (The only two to ever lose city status in the seven plus centuries since are Nemecká Ľupča and Starý Tekov.) Most of the other cities and bigger towns in the country, such as Levoča, Bardejov, Trenčín, Žilina, etc., etc. received city charters in the 14th and 15th century. Košice's original coat of arms from 1369, granted during the rule of the Hungarian branch of the Anjevins, is actually the oldest municipal coat of arms in all of Europe. The town of Šaľa, with a town charter from 1536, would be by Slovak standards, an unremarkable latecomer.

I liked the Hull / Hul reference. :-)) Personally, I'd really like if there was finally more investment in the southern lines and central Slovak lines, to speed up travel. They're still slow.

[LiegeEdward]

Much love ❤️my good friend, I love your work

[nuinmarnuinmar]

Very interesting journey - thanks for sharing!

[cryzcryz]

A beautiful long trip for a low price. It is a pity that the weather was not better because Slovakia is beautiful and the views from the train window would be more beautiful.
Thank you for this video!

[FilFee]

A railway worker with a red peaked cap is the main dispatcher. There's usually only one dispatcher per station, but if there's more, the other ones wear blue caps.
For example: The main dispatcher is the only one allowed to sign written orders given to the train crews.

[ampersand.]

The stained glass was stunning! How lovely it must be in summer sunshine. We`ve caught up with all your videos now and looking forward to more gems :D

[Andrewjg_]

Slovakia is still the best country in Europe. Fabulous country.

[marcinklimas]

Red is for dyżurny ruchu in polish, traffic signalbox menager. He give the permition to ride from the platform. Its normal in this part of continental Europe, or ex Soviet Union.

[ChrisH-]

It wasn't much slower in the early 90s! There used to be one through train a day from BB to Bratislava (which really was 'through') otherwise you changed at Zvolen, which itself is a major railway engineering centre with an interesting past. Good to see the modern trains and that the little single railcars are performing on the branches. I think you have a discrepancy in your description copied over from a previous video (departure/destination info), but it doesn't spoil the enjoyment of this one.

[colinriley]

On of those days! Weather, delay, and an empty carriage. A train needs a bit of bustle as well as line speed. Yet there were plenty of positives, the design and caredforness of stations and subways were exceptional. The stained glass was worth the trip by itself. You just needed a comfy bar at the end--something like Wemyss Bay.
I just had as many goes spelling WB as you had with the Slovak pronunciation.

[NetroYT]

Thank you for the video. What mobile app do you use to measure the speed of the train?