This statement represents one of the conclusions of the reunion entitled “The situation of Romanian railways – present and future” organised by the General Association of Engineers in Romania (AGIR) and the Academy of Technical Sciences of Romania (ASTR), in collaboration with the Romanian Association of Railway Engineers (AIFR) and Club Feroviar on May 18, 2010.
Among the other topics discussed during this reunion we can mention: The role of the public authorities in aligning the Romanian transport system to the requirements of sustainable development (presented by Şerban Raicu, President of the Transport Engineering Division at ASTR, The situation of Romanian railways in the European context (a brief overview of the current situation of the Romanian railway system presented by Octavian Udrişte, member AIFR and member of the UEEIV Presidium) and Railway prospects – horizon 2030, presented by Ştefan Roşeanu, Senior Partner Club Feroviar, who put forth a possible long-term scenario related to the future of the railway transport system in the European context.
The debate was chaired by Mihai Mihăiţă, President AGIR and Vice-President ASTR. Among the participants we can mention: Claudiu Dumitrescu, general manager of the Infrastructure and Railway Transport Directorate within the Romanian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Mircea Arnăutu, general manager of the Romanian Railway Notified Body within the Romanian Railway Authority (AFER), Ioan Buciuman, technical director AFER, Sorin Chinde, general manager (GFR) and Sorin Zbengheci, marketing director at ServtransInvest.
One of the ideas outlined by the participants was that, although Romania holds the 8th position in Europe in terms of railway network length, when it comes to freight/passenger transport efficiency or rail transport attractiveness, it holds much more inferior positions. In regards to the investments allocated for the Romanian railway transport infrastructure, Romania holds the last position, with EUR 147 invested per track km at the end of 2006.
“Transport contributes to economic growth, which is much more important than financial efficiency”, said Şerban Raicu, outlining the importance of having a sustainable transport system in the context of an increasing globalization.
Maybe the most important cause that has led to the decline of the Romanian railway system is the lack of proper financing, which has become more and more stringent in the last ten years.
“Is there political will to apply EU’s requirements for a competitive European railway network? Who does this depend on and what are the measures that we need to take in order to ensure a fair competition between road and rail transport?” These were the two questions raised by Octavian Udrişte during the reunion.
“Romania has to and will become a railway country, because the development of a sustainable transport system can only be generated by a quality infrastructure. Romania is one of the Eastern European gateways because it has the port of Constanţa, Danube ports and surface routes that are part of Corridor IV and IX”, explained Ştefan Roşeanu.
Claudiu Dumitrescu, general manager of the Infrastructure and Railway Transport Directorate, outlined the fact that the under-financing of the Romanian infrastructure in the last 15 years cannot be attributed to only one entity, mainly CFR SA. “There are internal possibilities to solve the problem. Underfinancing is not the only factor that led to this situation and it can be compensated through alternative means of income, such as reorganising the system and redirecting it towards commercial activities.”
“Currently, CFR SA has an atypical structure and maybe its various operations should be separated”, added Claudiu Dumitrescu.
Half of the total number of railway lines and bridges have exceeded their life cycle. Only 4% of the railway bridges and less than 60% of the railway lines are safe from the technical point of view. The rest have exceeded their repair deadlines.
by Elena Ilie
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