“If we want to have an efficient railway system in Romania too, following the example of other European countries, then we should all join efforts, including CFR SA and the unions. If we do not understand that we need collaboration to progress, then things will go just like before”, pointed out Gigi Gavrila, President of the Romanian Railway Reform Authority (ARF) during the Railway Days Summit, organised by Club Feroviar and the Romanian Railway Industry Association (AIF) in Bucharest on 16-17 October.
Currently, the Romanian Railway Reform Authority is developing a significant project, the Study on the Sustainability and Efficiency of the Romanian railway network. Its objective mainly consists in developing a comprehensive analysis of making the Romanian railway network efficient, but also the identification of measures necessary to efficiently manage the railway network.
The consultancy contract was assigned in August 2018 to a consortium of companies including Synergetics (Romania), Panteia (the Netherlands) and Railistics (Germany). The first analyses were initiated in September 2018.
“The project will be carried out on a period of 18 months which is very important for us. Thus, the analysis of every secondary line will be considered from the operational, technical and contractual point of view. The mobility need in the areas served by railways and rail infrastructure connections will be analysed. Also, a cost-benefit analysis will be carried out for every secondary line (including the social, economic and financial analysis of the areas served by these lines)”, declared the ARF President.
Another objective of the project consists in the analysis of the scenario regarding the conservation of some transport sectors, the secondary lines.
“This would be the least economically beneficial. In specific situations, we might conclude that those lines are no longer necessary and that maintenance costs are no longer motivated. In this case, the money currently allocated to these sectors could be redistributed to other, more feasible infrastructure projects”, added Gigi Gavrila.
According to this measure, every secondary line will be analysed to select the best possible scenario regarding:
- the improvement of railway passenger transport operations – more efficient and attractive
- reducing operation, traffic management and maintenance costs
- necessary budgets to boost efficiency
- effect on passenger volume when a railway is closed
- attracting freight operators
Another very important project to be carried out by the Romanian Railway Reform Authority is rolling stock procurement. This project will not be available to just the national railway passenger transport operator.
“Articles will be introduced in setting public services contracts so that all railway passenger transport operators could takeover part of the rolling stock made available by ARF”, explained the President of the Romanian Railway Reform Authority.
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