Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways, abbreviated as CFR) is the official designation of the state railway carrier of Romania. CFR manages the fourth-largest railway network in Europe, in terms of volume of passengers and freight [1]. The network is significantly interconnected with other European railway networks, providing pan-European passenger and freight services.
Technically, CFR is divided into four autonomous companies:
- CFR Călători (passenger carrier)
- CFR Marfă (freight carrier)
- CFR Infrastructură (infrastructure managament and maintanence)
- Societatea Feroviară de Turism, or SFT (Railway Tourism Society)
CFR is headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, and has regional divisions in the following Romanian cities: Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Iaşi and Braşov. Its international UIC code is 53-CFR.[2]
History
Railways in the 19th century
The first railway line on Romania's present-day territory was opened on August 20, 1854 and ran between Oraviţa in Transylvania and Baziaş, a port on the Danube. The line, which had a length of 62.5 km, was used solely for the transportation of coal. From January 12, 1855, the line was operated by Austrian Railways, Transylvania being at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After several improvements in the following months, the line was opened to passenger traffic from November 1, 1856.
Between 1864 and 1880, several railways were constructed in what was then the Kingdom of Romania. In September 1, 1865, constructions began on the Bucharest-Giurgiu line was opened, constructed by the English company John Trevor-Barkley. The line was opened to traffic on August 26, 1869. The Bucharest-Giurgiu line was the first railway built on Romanian territory at that time, commissioned by the King of Romania (considering that the Oraviţa-Baziaş line was part of Austria-Hungary, even though it presently lies on Romanian territory).
In September 1866, the Romanian Parliament voted for the construction of a 915-km railway, from Varciorova in the south to Roman in the north, via Piteşti, Bucharest, Buzău, Braila, Galaţi and Tecuci, all important population centres. The price for the construction was at that time 270,000 golden francs per kilometre and was contracted to the German Strousberg consortium. The line was opened in various stages, the first stage (Piteşti-Bucharest-Galaţi-Roman) being opened to traffic on September 13 1872, while the Varciorova-Piteşti segment was opened some time later, on May 9, 1878. The Varciorova-Roman line was an important part of Romania's rail infrastructure because it spanned the entire Kingdom and provided an important connection for passengers and freight between several significant Wallachian and Moldavian cities.
On September 10, 1868, Bucharest's Gara de Nord (North Station) was finalised. On January 1880, the Romanian Parliament voted to transfer the ownership of the Varciorova-Roman line from the private administration of the Strousberg consortium to state ownership, under the administration of Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways). 1880 therefore marks the start of the Căile Ferate Române institution which survives to this date. The first administration of CFR was made up of Lords Kalinderu, Stătescu and Falcoianu.
On May 1868, the Romanian state concluded an agreement with another German consortium, known as the "Offenheim Consortium", for the construction of several shorter railways in the region of Moldavia. The lines, which had a total length of 224 km, would run from Roman to Itcani, from Paşcani to Iaşi and from Vereşti to Botoşani. The lines were progressively opened from December 1869 to November 1871. Due to the poor management of the lines by the Offenheim Consortium, they were placed under the manangement of Căile Ferate Române in January 1889.
Meanwhile, during the Romanian War of Independence in 1877, Romania annexed the region of Dobrogea, which had previously belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The Romanian state placed under the management of Căile Ferate Române the Constanţa-Cernavodă line, which had been constructed during the Ottoman times. The Bucharest-Giurgiu line, the first line constructed in the Kingdom of Romania, was also placed under the administration of CFR during this time.
Hence, by 1889, the Romanian state became the owner of all of the lines in the Kingdom of Romania, the railway system having a total length of 1377 km.
Railways in the early 20th century
In 1920, the Kingdom of Romania annexed the regions of Transylvania, Besserabia and Bukovina to form Greater Romania. As a result, all railway lines in these regions, previously under the ownership of Austria-Hungary or the Russian Empire, were placed under the administration of CFR. This event was significant for Romanian railways because it meant that the large Arad rolling stock and steel factory, previously located on Austro-Hungarian territory, was now part of Romania, and was consequently used to produce a wide range of rolling stock and locomotives for CFR.
During this time, various railways were "doubled" — that is, double tracks were introduced on routes to permit a greater flow of traffic. The first line to be doubled was the Bucharest-Ploieşti-Câmpina line, where doubling was completed in 1912. In the period between the wars, various other lines were doubled, including:
- Constanţa-Cernavodă (1931)
- Adjud-Tecuci (1933)
- Teiuş-Apahida (1940)
- Câmpina-Braşov (1941)
- Buzău-Mărăşeşti (1942)
During the 1920s and 1930s CFR also bought several new locomotives and cars, embarking on a plan of widespread modernisation. Diesel traction was introduced, and the Malaxa high-speed DMUs (a modernised version of which are still in use as commuter trains in Banat) were built.
Railways in Communist Romania
After Romania became a Communist republic in 1949, there was quite a significant amount of investment in railway infrastructure, often to the detriment of other forms of infrastructure, especially roads. During this period, railways were seen as the symbol of Romania's rapid industrialisation under Communist leaders Gheorghe Gheorgiu-Dej and, later, dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. Aside from an increase in train traffic and the construction of various new lines, especially in rural areas, the bulk of electrification and line doubling occured during the Communist period.
The first line to be electrified on the Romanian railway network was the Bucharest-Braşov line, which was used by a significant amount of passenger and freight traffic. Works on electrification started in 1959, and the first electrified segment, from Braşov to Predeal, opened on December 9, 1965. By April 20, 1966, a further segment was electrified, from Predeal to Câmpina. The entire line was electrified by February 16, 1969, at a frequency of 50 Hz and power of 25 kW.
Various lines were also supplemented with double tracks to permit a wider flow of traffic, including:
- Făurei-Galaţi (1971)
- Pantelimon-Cernavodă (1971)
- Bucharest-Roşiori-Craiova (1972)
- Chitila-Goleşti (1972)
- Braşov-Câmpul Libertăţii (1974)
- Adjud-Suceava (1975)
By the mid-1970s, steam traction dissapeared completely out of mainstream use, being replaced by standardised diesel and electric locomotives and cars, most of which were built in Romania, at the Astra factory in Arad.
CFR after 1989
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, which resulted in the fall of Communism, Romania was left with one of the largest, most dense and most frequently-used railway networks in Europe, but at the same time relatively outdated infrastructure. This, combined with the economic decline that Romania faced in the 1990s due to its transition to a market economy, resulted in CFR entering a period of relative decline. Several little-used routes, especially in rural areas, were cut back, and rolling stock, most of which was acquired in the 1970s, entered a period of disrepair. CFR's image, both domestically and abroad, suffered greatly, due to reports of dilapidated trains, poor service and general disarray of management.
This situation continued until the year 1998, when Societatea Naţională a Căilor Ferate Române (The National Society of Romanian Railways) was reorganised into five independently-administered divisions, in order to improve its efficiency, and the company was renamed Compania Naţional de Căi Ferate "CFR" SA (National Railway Company "CFR"). After this, the situation of Romanian railways improved significantly, mainly spurred on by Romania's economic boom after the year 2000, which permitted a considerable amount of government investment in railways and has led CFR to once again become one of the most successful railway operators in the region.
Since 1989, a number of small, branch lines have been closed - especially those designated a industrial-only and narrow gauge. This has been generally done because of a sharp drop of passengers on those lines, due to low passenger numbers. Some other closures are to occur in the future, especially on the Timiş branch lines (that are very short, very old, little used, in need of repairs, and heavily affected by the 2005 floods). All in all, another 75 km are to close until 2007 (around 1000-1500 km of rail have closed since 1990 - all rural rails). Some narrow gauge tracks have recently been reopened by SFT for tourism, but are only run only on occasions, about twice a month (such as Abrud-Câmpeni, Târgu Mureş - Band or Moldoviţa-Canton). All forestry railroads (CFF) still in existance in 1989 (most have been closed during the Communist era) have been privatized and sold to the forestry companies. Some, such as the Vasser Valley Scenic Railroad since became huge tourist attractions.
Modernisation
In the early 2000s, CFR embarked on a comprehensive modernisation programme in order to improve its image, which was, both internationally and domestically, plagued by reports of poor service and outdated rolling stock. The first phases of the modernisation included a refurbishment of a large number of Rapid and InterCity rolling stock, as well as a general expansion of IC services to form a Romania-wide express network.
To strengthen the growth of the Romanian InterCity network, CFR acquired in early 2003 several new Siemens Desiro trainsets, some of which were assembled in Arad, Romania[3]. Nicknamed "Sageata Albastră" (Blue Arrow), they are used on Accelerat, Rapid and InterCity services for short and medium distances. The Desiro trainsets were used as the icons of CFR's modernisation, despite criticism that CFR shouldn't have used the Desiro trainsets, which are diesel multiple units, on mainline express services, as they are designed mainly for short-distance commuter rail, as seen by their fairly hard seating, low speed, and poor noise insulation. CFR responded to this by introducing, in late 2004, a number of new Desiro trainsets that had better sound insulation and 70 seats, instead of 110 seats, thereby increasing the width and pitch of the seats.[4] To this date, CFR continues to use Desiro trains on medium-distance routes, even though it has replaced them on several long-distance routes by other refurbished rolling stock.
Aside from the Desiro, CFR has also bought in the past few years 80 new sleeper cars (WLABmee type), couchettes, InterCity cars, as well as double-decker cars to use on Accelerat and Rapid trains of a high volume of passengers. The new CFR sleepers are currently some of the most modern in Europe, having air-conditioning, LCD screens and modern showers in each compartment.[5]
Apart from improvements in rolling stock, CFR has also bought or modernised several locomotive classes, including the widespread Class 40 and Class 41 electric locomotives. It also bought 10 new Siemens Taurus locomotives to be used on Rapid and InterCity services.
Part of the CFR modernisation programme is the XSELL programme, which seeks to establish a Romania-wide electronic ticketing system. It is to be noted that while Romanian railway services have improved significantly in the past decade and now comply to European standards, the ticketing system remains very antiquated, still using cardboard tokens instead of electronic tickets. The XSELL programme was launched at Bucharest North station in November 2004[6], and is expected to be unveiled in major railway stations throughout the country, in late 2005.
In 2003, Romanian mobile phone operator Connex GSM Romania struck a deal with CFR to provide quick mobile services to the CFR timetable and booking system. Currently, a 24-hour hotline operates where customers of Connex can call a certain three-digit number (652) and get real-time information on train routes, timetables, station platform depatures, delays, prices and ticketing information and booking of trains from Bucharest North station. Orange Romania has signed a similar agreement in early 2004.
CFR services continue to improve, with the company currently reaching a turning point in its business strategy and services being some of the best in the region. However, some people have raised concerns that CFR, which has not reached profitability yet, does not have the means to finance ongoing infrastructural modernisation, especially in the context of a government that is, at the present moment, keener to develop road infrastructure at the expense of railways.
Partial privatisation
Although passenger railway services are not a state monopoly in Romania, CFR remains the only passenger carrier operating at a national level. However, after the reorganisation of CFR in 1998, around 10% of Romanian railway tracks have been leased to private companies. Known as non-interoperable tracks (linii neinteroperabile in Romanian), these include the Zărneşti-Braşov and Ploieşti-Maneciu lines. On these lines, CFR is not allowed to operate its trains — companies which have leased the tracks have a virtual monopoly on their usage. Aside from CFR Călători, 12 other companies provide local passenger services, on non-interoperable tracks, even though none of these services exceed 40 km in line length. 28 private companies, including Petromidia and Servtrans, operate freigh transport services with their own rolling stock, on lines leased from CFR. As of 2005, some of the leases have been breached and the tracks have therefore falled back under the operation of Căile Ferate Române.
Passenger services
CFR Călători, the passenger service division of CFR, operates seven types of passenger train, both on Romania's territory, with rolling stock and locomotives, or internationally, with rolling stock. Also, CFR operates international trains on Romanian territory with its own locomotives. The train types vary in terms of speed and type of rolling stock.
CFR train types are:
- Personal (P) - the trains have assigned numbers from 2000 to 9999
- Accelerat (A) - the trains have assigned numbers from 1000 to 1999
- Rapid (R) - numbered from 200 to 499, from 600 to 999 and from 10000 to 14999
- InterCity (IC) - numbered from 500 to 599
- EuroCity (EC) - numbered as IC trains from 500 to 599
- EuroNight (EN) - numbered as IC trains from 500 to 599
- Special (S) - tourist trains operated on scenic routes with vintage rolling stock, numbered from S1 to S9
Aside from the seven main train types, CFR also operates night trains, which can be of any status (usually Rapid, InterCity or EuroNight). Freight trains, operated by CFR Marfă, have a different numbering system.
Personal
Personal trains, sometimes known as commuter trains, are the most abundant type of train on the CFR passenger network. They are used for two main purposes, as shuttle, or commuter, trains, linking towns with neighbouring villages, and linking neighbouring cities with each other.
Personal trains have the lowest average speed (34.3 km/h in 2004) and the least-comfortable (usually oldest) rolling stock, and have a reputation for being very slow, crowded and generally unkempt. Personal trains operate mostly on local routes and stop at every station. Train fares for this type are the cheapest, since no supplement is paid, only the base fee, based on distance. Seats are usually not reservable.
The rolling stock on Personal trains differs widely. On routes that neighbouring cities with each other (such as Bucharest and Piteşti), the quality of the rolling stock is much better than those services which provide a shuttle link between cities and rural areas (such as the Timişoara-Berzovia line).
Most Personal rolling stock of uncomparimented single and double-deckered cars. Some train services of this type, especially on rural routes, only have 2nd class rolling stock (i.e. there are no 1st class carriages). The livery of most Personal cars is painted in blue, with the rolling stock built in the 1970s and 1980s. Some very short rural routes in Romania's Bukovina region use rolling stock from the 1940s and 1950s, refitted with bus seats and operating like railbuses. CFR is currently refurbishing a range of double-decker Personal cars, that will be used on Personal and Accelerat trains. The refurbished cars, painted in the exact same livery as the old ones, have been introduced since 2003, and are cleaner, although they still use most of the old fittings.
Accelerat
Accelerat trains (accelerated trains) are used for medium- and long-distance services that stop only in towns or cities. Accelerat trains use better rolling stock than Personal trains, and have higher speeds. They are also more expensive, requiring the payment of a supplement alongside the base fee. Some services of the Accelerat type require a reservation. Accelerat trains are also used for cross-regional long-distance routes (for example, Oradea to Galaţi, a distance of more than 830 km). Despite the long distances, Accelerat trains tend to stop in every town (even though they bypass villages) and hence are very popular, though they are seldom used for express travel between two large cities.
The Accelerat rolling stock is formed mostly of single-deckered cars, of the old Y type, painted in blue, either plain or with a white horizontal stripe. All cars are compartmented, with 8 seats per compartment in second class and 6 in first class. Rolling stock is of considerably poorer quality than Rapid and InterCity trains, as almost no Accelerat cars have been refurbished yet. Accelerat trains also have a reputation for being overcrowded and dirty due to the long distances which they travel and the relatively frequent stops they make.
CFR has, however, begun a modernisation process for Accelerat services. In early 2005, it introduced a new double-decker car for medium-distance, highly-used Accelerat routes such as Bucharest–Predeal. Desiro trainsets have also been introduced on medium-distance Accelerat routes in Transylvania. Longer-distance Accelerat trains often have couchettes, though rarely do have sleepers. Dining cars are never used on such trains.
Two international trains (Bucharest-Venice and Bucharest-Chişinău) are run as Accelerat-type on Romanian territory, in order to keep ticket prices cheaper and therefore make the services more competitive with competing road and air transport. However, the rolling stock used on such trains is identical to InterCity rolling stock and is thus of a high quality.
Rapid
Rapid trains are quite significantly faster and more comfortable than Accelerat and Personal trains, and are the ones most commonly used for long-distance express travel between major Romanian cities. Rapid trains operate only on main lines between key population centres, making stops only in major towns and cities. Unlike Accelerat trains, they don't provide cross-regional long distance services, instead focussing on highly-travelled routes and making little stops.
Rolling stock on Rapid trains has recently been the target of CFR's modernisation plan. Various classes of cars have been refurbished, and fitted with air-conditioning, ecological toilets, etc. However, a small and rapidly-declining number of Rapid rolling stock, mainly on lesser-used routes, remains fairly aged and outdated. As of 2004, Siemens Desiro DMUs have been introduced on medium-distance Rapid routes. Most Rapid rolling stock is painted in red, usually with a white horizontal stripe. All cars are compartmented and first class is usually air-conditioned, with 6 seats per compartment both in second class and first class. Sleepers, couchettes and dining-cars are available on most long routes.
InterCity
InterCity (IC) is CFR's premier train type and is used for express services between major cities, as well as shuttle services between Bucharest and the Black Sea coast and the Carpathian mountain resorts of Sinaia and Predeal. InterCity trains typically only stop in large cities (generally of over 100,000 inhabitants). InterCity trains are the fastest out of all the train types, having an average speed of 87 km/h in 2004, and also use the most modern and comfortable rolling stock, rivalling the premier services of other European carriers. Due to this, InterCity prices include a significant supplement alongside the base fee. However, due to the fact that IC services are only slightly more expensive than Rapid services, InterCity trains have become very popular for both travellers and businesspeople.
There are two main types of InterCity rolling stock: standard (or "classic") and Desiro. The standard InterCity rolling stock is either new or refurbished (all IC rolling stock was built after 1995), with air-conditioning and plush bucket armchairs, as well as complementary newspapers, free meals and airplane-like service in first class. These trains generally have a reputation for their high levels of comfort, cleanliness and service. The InterCity standard livery is usually grey and red, especially in the case of the C160-class rolling stock, which is the newest type. Most InterCity rolling stock is compartmented, even though recently there has been a trend to abolish compartments in the process of refurbishing cars.
High-passenger and international IC services, such as the Bucharest-Constanţa route, use the Romanian-built Astra AVA-200 cars, which have a maximum speed of 200 km/h and are the most comfortable rolling stock in the CFR fleet. In fact, according to Friends of CFR, a Romanian railway journal, there was a considerable downgrading in quality when the Bucharest-Vienna IC service switched from being operated by CFR to being run by Austrian Railways (ÖBB) in 2003, leading to numerous complaints that the route should revert back to CFR cars instead of Austrian ÖBB cars.
The Siemens Desiro rolling stock, coloured in blue and white, which uses DMUs, is used for shorter-distance IC services, usually with only one or two intermiary stops (for example, the Sibiu-Braşov route). They are also used on non-electrified routes. As of 2005, InterCity trains operate on the following routes:
| Route | Rolling stock | |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Desiro | |
| Bucharest – Iaşi | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Bacău – Suceava | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Ploieşti – Braşov | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bucharest – Brăila – Galaţi | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Piteşti – Craiova | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Constanţa – Mangalia | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bucharest – Tulcea | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Brasov – Alba Iulia – Arad | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Brasov – Cluj Napoca – Oradea | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Craiova – Timisoara | ✓ | |
| Oradea – Brasov – Ploiesti – Constanta | ✓ | |
| Bucharest – Brasov – Târgu Mureş | ✓ | |
| Timişoara – Arad – Oradea – Cluj-Napoca | ✓ | |
| Cluj-Napoca – Alba Iulia – Sibiu | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cluj-Napoca – Baia Mare – Satu Mare | ✓ | |
| Sibiu – Râmnicu Vâlcea – Craiova | ✓ | |
| Braşov – Sibiu | ✓ | |
| Timişoara – Deva – Sibiu | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reşiţa – Caransebeş – Timişoara | ✓ | |
Some IC services run at night and therefore contain sleepers. Older sleeper rolling stock uses the red livery, while the new sleepers are painted in the blue-yellow-white "night" livery.
Before early 2003, there was also a train type known as InterCityExpress (ICE), which ran from Bucharest to Constanţa, but these have been discontinued and transformed into IC, while maintaining the same rolling stock.
EuroCity and EuroNight
EuroCity (EC) and EuroNight (EN) are international trains which are usually run by CFR in partnership with another national carrier, depending on the origin and destination of the route. There trains are part of the pan-European express railway network. Not all international trains that come to or via Romania are of EC or EN type — most are usually run as Rapid trains on the territory of Romania. However, the night train from Belgrade to Bucharest is run as a EuroNight train, and there is both a EuroCity and a EuroNight train from Budapest to Bucharest via Arad. EuroCity trains are almost always comfortable and modern, even though not perhaps as comfortable as InterCity, since they generally use the same rolling stock as Rapid trains. EuroNight trains use modern sleepers and have a generally good safety record.
The CFR operates several different types of sleeping cars in EuroNight and other night trains. In international trains, the sleeping cars built by Deutsche Waggonbau AG around 1990 are preferred as these have a good level of comfort and showers. They are currently undergoing serious refurbishment to comply with international standards. In addition, several older types of sleeping cars (WLAB33, T2S) were recently bought second hand from Germany; these are being modernized and mostly used inside Romania and to the neighbour countries. They have replaced the archaic OSShD-B/Y sleeping cars previously used in these services.
Speeds
The speed limit for all trains in Romania is 160 km/h, although the only sectors trains run at that speeds are Bucharest-Câmpina and Bucharest-Constanţa and the only trains allowed to go that fast are those of InterCity and Rapid type. All other trains have a general speed limit of 120 km/h. Average operating speeds (including all stops in stations) according to CFR, were in 2004:
- 34.3 km/h for Personal trains
- 67 km/h for Accelerat trains
- 85 km/h for Rapid trains
- 87 km/h for InterCity trains
The longest train route, as of 2005, is the one between Suceava, in the north-east, and Timişoara, in the south-west, takes 15 hours with an Accelerat-type train. The longest route for an InterCity train (Oradea – Constanţa) takes 12 hours to complete.
Rolling Stock
All rolling stock is divided between the four companies, and generally should not be interchanged. For example, a CFR Marfǎ locomotive should not be used to pull a CFR Cǎlǎtori train. In practice however, this rule does not hold, and frequently the companies use other rolling stock through informal lease agreements. Even more, private companies' rolling stock is used at times, usually because of emergencies (such as a locomotive breaking down and requiring a replacement to keep the line open, and an unused private locomotive is closer).
Locomotives
CFR Călători and Marfa use electric (known as LE), diesel electric (LDE), diesel hidraulic (LDH) and diesel mechanical (LDM/LDMM) locomotives. SFT uses steam locomotives (both narrow gauge and standard gauge) and diesel mechanical locomotives.
Electric Locomotives
The electric locomotives employed by CFR were built by Electroputere Craiova and Rade Koncar Zagreb after an ASEA licence. They are not copies of the original model, but variations on the design. All are standard gauge (1453 mm) and run using catenary wire at 50 Hz 25 KV AC. All trains have electric heating.
EA Type - built by Electroputere Craiova - 933 built in total for CFR
- Class 40 - 5100 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h - built 1963-1993
- Class 41 - 5100 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h - built 1965-1994
- Class 42 - 5100 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 200 km/h - only 1, built 1973 for speed tests.
- Class 45 - 5100 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h (upgradeable to 175) - heavily modernized class 41 locomotives. 24 in service, starting 1999, with new bogies, gears, control systems and brakes. First CFR locomotives to use computerized traction control. 20 more are to be converted.
EC Type - built by Rade Koncar - 131 built for CFR
- Class 43 - 3400 KW Bo'Bo' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h - built 1973-1984
- Class 44 - 3400 KW Bo'Bo' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h - built 1973-1984
- Class 46 - 3840 KW Bo'Bo' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h - heavily modernized class 43/44 locomotives. 6 built, in 1999 and 2001.
Diesel locomotives
These were built by Faur Bucharest and Electroputere Craiova. A number of new, Siemens ER20 Hercules locomotives have been bought and CFR awaits delivery (scheduled for delivery in November 2005). These will be used by CFR Marfă. The following classes are currently in service:
Built by Electroputere Craiova
- Class 60 - Diesel electric, 1546 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. Built 1959-1988 by Electroputere
- Class 62 - Diesel electric, 1546 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. Built 1966-1991 by Electroputere
- Class 63 - Diesel electric, 1546 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Based on class 62, but with new General Motors engine, electric heating, suspensions, brakes, body and control system
- Class 65 - Diesel electric, 1546 KW Co'Co' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h. Based on class 60, but with new engine, 2nd suspension level, body and control systems.
- Class 67/68 - Same as class 60, adapted for broad gauge (1520 mm) railways near the border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Class 63 and 65 have electric train heating. Class 62 was built with either steam heating (until 1975) or electric heating (after 1975)
Built by Faur Bucharest
- Class 69 - Diesel electric, 920 KW, Bo'Bo' axle formula, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h. 18 built 1975-1977
- Class 73 - same as class 69, but with two air compressors. 10 built 1975-1977
- Class 80 - Diesel hidraulic, 920 KW, B'B' axle formula, steam heating, with a maximum speed of 100 km/h, built 1966-1985
- Class 81 - Diesel hidraulic, same as class 80, but with no train heating, built 1966-1985
- Class 82 - Diesel hidraulic, 1104 KW, B'B' axle formula, Caterpillar engine, modernised by Alstom, based on class 80/81, maximum speed 100 km/h, 10 built between 1999-2002, used for slow or very light passenger trains.
- Class 83 - Same as class 82, modernized 1998 but using an MTU engine
- Class 84 - Same as class 80, but for use on broad gauge railways.
- Class 87 - B'B' narrow gauge (760 mm), 40 km/h maximum speed, built 1979-1984. 4 still in service at CFR (5 other by different operators)
- Class 88 (formerly 96) - Diesel mechanical shunter, B axle formula, 184 KW, maximum speed 40 km/h. 81 built 1981-1984
- Class 95 - Diesel mechanical shunter, B axle formula, 88 KW, maximum speed 55 km/h (regular service), 35 km/h shunting. Built 1935-1950, 8 in use, 3 by SFT.
Different steam engines are also in use by SFT for historic and scenic trains.
DMU
- Class 77 - Archaic railbus, built by Malaxa Inc. Bucharest 1935-1942. Diesel mechanical, 88 KW power, maximum speed 70 km/h. 100 built, 51 still in use, mainly in Banat and Bukovina. 58 second class seats. Former Malaxa Series 900 Carpaţi.
- Class 78 - Former Express DMU, built by Malaxa Inc. Bucharest 1939-1954. 162 KW, maximum speed 100 km/h or 120 km/h. 42 built, some of them built as single units, some built as double units, with only one driving post/car, and interconnecting passage. 31 in use, 29 fully refurbished, most are used as official trains, both by the ministers (some have beds, showers, luxury fittings, one even a small press room) and by company officials (CFR Marfa owns 2 such DMU's). Former Malaxa Series 1000 Regal.
- Class 79 - Former Deutsche Bahn class 772 railbus, diesel mechanical transmission, 132 KW, 90 km/h maximum speed. 12 bought in 1993-1996, built 1960-1977, all still in use on rural and local trains. 54 second class seats.
- Class 91 - Two diesel hidraulic railbuses, built by MARUB Brasov in 1995, 153/208 KW, 80 km/h maximum speed, 56 second class seats.
- Class 96 - Siemens Desiro / Sageata Albastra - Diesel mechanical, 550 KW, 120 km/h maximum speed, 120 bought (30 to follow), on use on InterCity, Rapid and Accelerat trains, 12 seats first class ,98 second class or 10 seats first class, 60 second class or 80 second class, depending on model. Some will be built for 140 km/h.
- Class 98 (formerly numbered class 91/92) - Diesel hidraulic, 485 KW, 120 km/h maximum speed, 2 bought, made initially for DBAG in 1994. 12 first class seats, 112 second class seats, used on Accelerat and Rapid trains in Transylvania.
EMU
None in service currently. 30 Siemens Desiro Electrical have been bought and await delivery, possibly 3 Siemens InterCity EMU's will be bought for usage on Bucharest-Brasov and Bucharest-Constanta after a 220 km/h railroad upgrade. A 6 car regional EMU built by Electroputere (class 55+56+57+57+56+55) is currently under prototype stage at Electroputere (since 1990) as it experienced brakes and engine problem during initial testing.
Freight services
Freight services in Romania are operated mostly by CFR Marfă, the freight division of CFR, as well as by 28 other private companies who operate on lines leased from CFR Infrastructură. The CFR Marfă fleet is made up of 926 locomotives[7], most of which were built in Romania or the former Yugoslavia. The fact that rail freight remains maintains a strong market share in Romania, as well as a number of efficiency reforms, has led CFR Marfă to perform quite well financially in recent years, even though it remains loss-making. In 2003, the CFR Marfă's net loss was 8.8 million new lei (approximately US$3 million), reduced from 141.5 million new lei in 2002.[8]
Freight trains have no specific speed limitations, although hazardous materials, explosive, nuclear, flammable, chemical or otherwise dangerous trains have a special regime. Most locomotives have a physical speed limit of 200 km/h.
| Type of goods | % |
|---|---|
| Coal | 40.9 |
| Oil products | 12.6 |
| Quarry and ballast products | 4.4 |
| Common metals and common metal articles | 10.2 |
| Cement | 3.3 |
| Ore | 4.4 |
| Agricultural products | 3.9 |
| Chemicals | 3.8 |
| Other | 16.5 |
| Source: The structure of the main groups of goods carried on the railways in 2003 | |
See also
Notes
Note: Most of the links below are to sites written in Romanian.
References
Note: Most of the links below are to sites written in Romanian.
- "Istoria Căilor Ferate din România". CFR Infrastructură. July 10.
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- "Dublări de linii". CFR Infrastructură. July 10.
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- "Electrificarea căilor ferate". CFR Infrastructură. July 10.
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- "Înfiinţarea Cailor Ferate Romane". CFR Infrastructură. July 10.
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- "Restructurarea şi modernizarea infrastructurii". CFR Infrastructură. July 10.
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- "CFR a desemnat cele şapte firme pentru gestionarea unor secţii de circulaţie neinteroperabilă". ROMPRES. July 10.
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