Romanian Railway Co. Rehabilitates Only 31 Km Of Tracks

Tradus de Andrei NĂstase
Ziarul BURSA #English Section / 15 ianuarie 2009

The Romanian Railway Company (CFR) rehabilitated only 31 kilometres of railway tracks in 2008, within the budget allocation of a mere 80 million RON. Romania"s overall railway network measures 10,820 kilometres, that is, 20,000 linear kilometres. According to the Associated Romanian Railway Industries, the regular repair works for 5,000 kilometres of tracks, 65% of the bridges, 80% of the switches and 85% of the installations are overdue.

According to Agerpres, CFR SA spent some 40 million RON worth of public funds in 2008 to rehabilitate 31 kilometres of tracks, 8 bridges and 7 tunnels. The company also repaired 83 kilometres of tracks through foreign financing and co-financing with the State. According to CFR"s maintenance plan, the planned repairs for last year included 300 kilometres of tracks, 96 bridges and 52 tunnels.

Approximately 1.64 billion RON is needed to perform all maintenance and repair works necessary to reduce accident risks and ensure the designed train speed. Of this sum, 520 million RON is necessary for the lines and 420 million RON for the installations. However, as CFR has been losing money for years, the budget for repairs is at a minimum.

CFR pointed out that, since 2001, they had not received any of the money requested for expenses, repairs and maintenance. The situation peaked in 2008, when the company did not even have a signed budget, much less a maintenance budget.

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