2003 · today The line that nearly closedTrať, ktorú takmer zrušili

In 2003 passenger services on Slovakia's branch lines were cut back and many were stopped altogether. The Rajec line was on the list, and it survived because the region and the valley's own towns fought for it. Rajec today lives on woodworking and furniture, on engineering and plastics at the edge of town, and on the half-hour commute into Žilina. The two products that carry the valley's name furthest — the spring water called Rajec and the cola bottled beside it — are actually made a few kilometres up the road at Rajecká Lesná, which the town has got used to explaining.V roku 2003 obmedzili osobnú dopravu na slovenských lokálkach a mnohé zastavili úplne. Rajecká trať bola na zozname a prežila len preto, že sa za ňu postavil kraj a mestá doliny. Rajec dnes žije z drevárstva a nábytku, zo strojárstva a plastov na okraji mesta a z polhodinového dochádzania do Žiliny. Dva výrobky, ktoré nesú meno doliny najďalej — pramenitá voda Rajec a kola plnená hneď vedľa nej — sa v skutočnosti vyrábajú pár kilometrov vyššie v Rajeckej Lesnej, čo tu už musia vysvetľovať pomerne často.