CFR Marfă, liquidated up to Mărţişor

The national company CFR Marfă would be liquidated and stop its activity immediately after the operationalization and capitalization of the new company, Carpatica Feroviar, established by the Ciolacu government, operationalization that would take place until March 1, 2025, Daniel Apostolache, the general director, announced yesterday of CFR Marfă, within the 19th edition of the Railway Days - the Investment Summit of the Railway Club.

Daniel Apostolache specified: "After Carpatica Feroviar will be capitalized and buy the necessary assets from CFR Marfă, including 200 locomotives and 6,500 wagons, it will take over the activity of rail freight transport". Mr. Apostolache also showed that the new company, Carpatica Feroviar, will acquire only part of the infrastructure of CFR Marfă, thus keeping a small size to be more reliable and efficient.

We remind you that CFR Marfă's financial problems worsened after the European Commission found that the national railway freight operator received from the Ponta government incompatible state aid worth at least 570 million euros, by canceling debts and by non-payment of company debts to the state budget.

Recently, Bogdan Chiriţoiu, the president of the Competition Council, stated that the new company, Carpatica Feroviar, buys the assets of CFR Marfă, and the money collected goes to cancel the state aid declared illegal by the European Commission.

Carpatica Feroviar will focus on four key sectors: national defense, oil, grain and coal. The company has a strategic status, having approved an opinion from the Supreme National Defense Council (CSAT) and will play an essential role in rail freight transport for Romania. Apostolache emphasized that the new company is a sustainable solution of the Romanian state, which offers the guarantee that it will provide the necessary transport in conditions of economic and geopolitical stability.

He also showed that, due to the liquidation of CFR Marfă, part of the company's assets, including the ferry ships, have already been sold. Other assets, such as hotels and premises, are still available, but CFR Marfă prefers to capitalize on them at fairly valued prices, thus avoiding "bargains".

As for CFR Marfă employees, they will not be automatically taken over by Carpatica Feroviar, but they will be given the opportunity to submit their CVs for available positions. Carpatica Feroviar, before becoming fully operational, will go through an authorization process, estimated to last approximately six months. The new model for Carpatica Feroviar was inspired by the restructuring of the Italian airline Alitalia, which went through a similar process under European regulations. Carpatica Feroviar is to become Romania's main freight transport railway company, offering a modern and efficient solution, aligned with the requirements of the market and the European Commission.