The Princely Directorate of Romanian Railways was established on April 23, 1880 and was the first form of state-owned railway administration in our country. The institution was set up under Decree 1248/1880 signed by Prince Carol I and I.C. Brătianu, Minister of Public Works at the time. The first leader of CFR Princely Directorate was Colonel Ştefan Fălcoianu. 1880 has even a greater importance due to the establishment of the Railway Company of the Romanian Army, the year having a double significance in Romania’s railway history. The first ruler of CFR Company was Captain Ioan Culcer. But what is the exact significance of the 1880 spring? The construction, maintenance and exploitation of the railways were in the competence of the Romanian state after having bought them back from the former concession companies owned by foreign shareholders. The railways were organised under a single administration which was an uncommon action in that period even in Western Europe. CFR developed fast and grew once the railway network was expanded. On May 10, 1881, CFR Princely Directorate became CFR Royal Directorate when Romania became a kingdom, while on March 6, 1883 CFR Royal Directorate was renamed CFR General Directorate.
In 1912, following the establishment of Romanian CFR Civil Worker Company, the idea came of a day to celebrate the railways and the railway workers, so the day of CFR’ establishment beacame “CFR Workers’ Day”. This was also the moment when the spiritual patron saint of the railways was chosen, the Saint and Great Martyr George. The coat of arms dates back from the period of CFR’s establishment, the symbol of the “winged wheel” also representing the distinctive sign of the Railway and Military Transport Army, set up in 1949. In time, the Romanian Railways Day was changed, from 1952 to 1989 being celebrated on February 16, a date which marked the strike of Atelierele CFR Griviţa in 1933. After 1990, “CFR Workers’ Day” was celebrated on October 31, marking the inauguration of Bucharest-Filaret-Giurgiu line in 1869. On April 19, 1999, the name of the event was changed from “CFR Workers’ Day” to “Railway Workers’ Day”, since many undertakings resulted from CFR National Company’s division (SNCFR) no longer kept the CFR initials. The railways had a firm contribution in the union of the Romanian principalities through the construction of lines linking old Romanian historic regions, in the defence of the national territory during the 1877-1878, 1916-1918 and 1941-1945 wars, as well as in the country’s economic development with a significant role in the development of urban establishments or in the development of Romania’s specialized education , technique and innovation.
by Alin Lupulescu
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