The importance of railways has become a matter of great urgency, seeing as it is strongly connected to the national economy and the economic relations between countries. In this context, the authorities, together with railway infrastructure managers, have initiated a series of joint actions meant to increase the level of service quality. Such an initiative was taken by the railway companies in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania, countries which plan to develop a rail link between Gdansk and Constanţa. The possibility of reopening the old “Silk Road” made this rail link to be a very profitable solution to connect Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Far East, through the port of Constanţa. The huge resources of strategic raw materials in this region, the relative stability of the political regimes, massive investments, the creation of fast expanding domestic markets, the existence of an EU decision concerning the opening of the rail/road transport corridor TRACECA are the main conditions which turn the Caucasus – Central Asia region into an area of global importance, thus becoming one of the most attractive regions in the world.
Gdansk – Constanţa rail link will ensure passenger and freight transport between the existing combined rail transport terminals, ferry – boat terminals and free trade areas. This line also links the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, crossing 4 countries.
Gdansk – Constanţa rail link includes sections on the Pan – European transport corridors, more precisely Corridor VI (Gdansk – Warsaw), Corridor III (Krakow – Tarnov), Corridor V (Kysak – Chop) and Corridor IV (Teiuş – Constanţa). 1.158 km of the total length of the line (2.163 km) are part of these corridors. This rail link will contribute to the development of combined rail transport, which will become more and more used in international traffic. This line will help reduce the distance between Warsaw and Bucharest by 153 km and the travel time by around 6 – 7 hours and also ensure freight transport. This project will attract funds both from the governments of the countries involved and from the international financial institutions.
What does this project involve?
Despite the fact that the rail link is well-equipped on certain sections (double-track on certain sections, electrified and equipped with proper signalling systems on certain sections and some of the stations use electro-dynamic interlocking), there are many obstacles in terms of exploitation and they affect the quality of the services: reduced commercial speed because of the poor state of the infrastructure, installations and rolling stock, non-adequate services and the lack of civilized conditions inside the stations (improper platforms and waiting rooms, flawed information systems etc.). In terms of electrification, the sections which cross through Poland and Slovakia are electrified. In case of Ukraine, the line is electrified only on one section (Chop – Batevo). In Romania, the line is electrified on the section between Dej and Constanţa stations, over a length of 781 km, with 25kV AC traction. On the section in question, Halmeu-Teiuş, the line is not electrified between border point Halmeu and Dej, over a length of 216 km and electrified between Dej and Teiuş, over a length of 161 km. Considering the current technical conditions of the line and of the railway installations and constructions, which generate speed restrictions, in order for the rail link to reach the technical standards stipulated in international agreements, the works on the Tarnov – Teiuş section (part of Gdansk – Constanţa rail link) require an implementation in two stages.
The first stage concerns track rehabilitation on certain sections, and the second stage involves the electrification of the remaining sections, the installation of signalling systems and the upgrade of the stations.
The finalization of the first stage will bring several sections of the rail link to the designed parameters, increasing traffic safety. The implementation of the second stage brings the execution and rectification of curves. The rehabilitation measures, together with the measures taken to reduce stationing at the border, will help reduce the travel time. The rehabilitation works were designed with minimal investments and traffic should be resumed in two years’ time. The second stage will bring the entire rail link to the designed parameters and it also includes the electrification of the remaining sections and the upgrade of the stations. The main problem related to the electrification process is that the voltage used in Romania is of 25kV, 52hz AC, and not 3kV CC, which is the voltage used in the other 4 countries. Another stage is scheduled to be implemented for track doubling.
Aside from the Tarnov – Teiuş section, the other sections that are part of the rail link are: Gdansk – Warsaw – Tarnov and Teiuş – Bucharest – Constanţa which, since they are part of Pan-European corridors, include several modernised sections and others which are under modernisation.
Tarnow – Polish/Slovakian border section doesn’t raise serious problems in terms of speed restrictions. Works are being carried out along three track sections. In order to eliminate speed restrictions along the section which crosses Slovakia, rehabilitation works have to be performed on three track sections. In Ukraine, Chop – Diacovo is a single-track section, with double gauge. Between Batevo and Chop, near the 8 stations located along the section, the double gauge line is divided into a standard gauge line and a broad gauge line. At one end of the station, the double gauge line is divided into a broad and standard gauge line. In this case, the rolling stock is redirected. Therefore, Ukraine should work on bringing the track equipment to European standards, install rail joints and also rehabilitate and electrify the line. In Romania, as in all the other countries, the rehabilitation works were based on the principle of minimum costs: bridge replacement, level crossings, installation upgrade, station refurbishment, electrification etc. Once all the works are finalized, Gdansk – Constanţa rail link will become the main freight transport route, seeing as it includes major railway terminals. For instance, in Poland there are 3 such terminals (Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow) and Gdynia, the container port at the Baltic Sea, is connected to Gdansk through a rail link. In Slovakia, we can find Kosice, Dobra and Cerna container terminals (Cerna is a terminal designed at the highest standards, with a capacity of 3 million tones per year). In Romania, there are 6 container terminals: Baia Mare, Cluj Napoca, Braşov, Ploieşti, Bucharest and Constanţa, which in 2008, recorded container traffic of over 13 million TEU.
by Pamela Luică
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