To cover the higher costs of selling paper tickets and to encourage online ticketing, which is cheaper and greener. Issuing a paper ticket at the ticket-desk costs ZSSK more than a Euro (€1), while digital ticketing is 5 times cheaper (less than 30 cents). Issuing tickets on-board is even more expensive than at the ticket office.

From 15 March 2025.

All passengers who buy a ticket at the ticket-desk or on-board the train, except for certain groups (see below).

• Citizens 70+ (applies to all ticket types)
• Holders of a ŤZP-S disability card
• Citizens 62+ when ticket with 100% fare discount is issued – In the event of a sold-out contingent for 100% fare discount, all passengers (except Citizens 70+ and ŤZP-S disability card holders) pay the service charge.
• Passengers purchasing seat reservations, berth or couchette tickets – this is temporary exemption as the fee is planned to be introduced also for these tickets after the technical solution is up and running
• Similarly, it does not apply to bicycle and luggage tickets, SC supplements, JUNIOR, KLASIK and MAXI KLASIK passes, international tickets, courier shipments, travel packages, motorail tickets, employee-pass prolongation, IDS and 24-hour passes, 1st class supplements and credit top-ups.
• ZSSK does not operate ticket vending machines at stations. Mobile ticket vending machines on TEŽ and OŽ trains in the High Tatras are self-service and therefore not subject to the fee.

No, the passenger only pays the price of the seat reservation.

The name implies that it is a payment for the services involved in issuing the ticket at the ticket-desk or on board the train. The fee covers the cost of processing and issuing the ticket, printing, administration of the ticket-desk systems, technical support and the cost of the employees issuing tickets.

The service fee covers the cost of issuing the ticket, including the work of the ticket agent and the train conductor, printing the ticket and maintaining the ticket-desk systems. It is a fee for in-person service, which is not required when you buy your ticket online. This fee helps ZSSK to reduce the gap between the cost of traditional ticketing and digital solutions, which are cheaper and greener.

For group ticket with 100% fare discount the fee will not apply until online sales of these group tickets are available. For the GROUP (paid group ticket) offer, the fee will apply. Once online sales are in place, the fee (for 100% fare discounts) will be charged the same and per person as for regular group tickets.

Yes, but only on a reported journey and with a service fee of €3. The passenger is obliged to find the train conductor immediately after boarding and report the purchase of the ticket. If he/she fails to do so and is found without a valid ticket by the train conductor at the check, this will be considered as travelling without valid ticket and the passenger will pay the full fare and a penalty will be applied according to the Conditions of carriage. From 15 March 2025, there will no longer be a distinction between staffed and unstaffed stations – a service fee of €3 will apply when buying a ticket on board the train in all cases. Exemptions from the fee apply to passengers over 70 years of age, holders of a disability ŤZP-S card and passengers aged 62 and over when collecting a ticket for a 100% fare discount. The aim of the fee is to simplify on-board sales and ticket control and to encourage passengers to purchase tickets in advance.

In principle yes, it is common abroad for tickets purchased at the ticket-desk to be more expensive than online. In Austria, for example, the service fee is included in the ticket price and the price at the ticket-desk is higher. In the Netherlands and Spain, there is a service fee when buying tickets at the ticket-desk. Czech Railways do not have a ticket-desk fee for domestic tickets, but there is a fee on board if the ticket office was open at the boarding station. Polish Railways also charge a fee on board the train if the passenger was able to buy the ticket at the ticket-desk. Most railways encourage digital sales and introduce fees for in-person purchases or discounted prices for web or mobile app sales to motivate passengers to use online channels. The fact that online prices are the most advantageous is also common in other industries.  Service fees, even significantly higher than those introduced by ZSSK, are also commonly charged by banks, for example.