Fico: Free-of-charge Train Transport for Students Remains in Place

Fico: Free-of-charge Train Transport for Students Remains in Place

Bratislava, November 17 (TASR) – The free-of-charge train transport will remain in place, said Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Thursday after a lunch with university students from around the whole of Slovakia.

The premier reported that in the two years since it’s been introduced almost one million people have signed up for the free train transport. The number of passengers from among students and pensioners has almost doubled.

“The decision to give students and pupils the opportunity to travel by train for free is one of the most social decisions that has been adopted since 1989 for this category [of people],” stressed Fico.

“We will do everything in our power to preserve this decision for as long as possible. At least while we’re governing, we can guarantee no interference with the free-of-charge train transport for students, pupils and pensioners,” promised the prime minister.

Fico, along with Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini and Finance Minister Peter Kazimir (both Smer-SD), on Thursday invited 17 students from universities around Slovakia to have lunch with them in the dining car at the Main Station in Bratislava.

Fico congratulated all Slovaks on the occasion of the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy and all students on the occasion of International Students’ Day, which are both celebrated on November 17.

“The combination of these two holidays has prompted us to invite  17 students from various schools for lunch, during which we’ve tried to create scope for a discussion,” said Fico, adding that this is the best possible way to commemorate both of these two events. He’d like to continue with this tradition.

Fico also had a discussion with students from the Economy University in Bratislava. “They’re people who are linking their future to Slovakia; they want to stay here, to do jobs that make them happy and for which they are being prepared,” noted Fico.