OPSFPR, a Romanian rail freight association, met with a representative from the country’s transport ministry to express concerns about the country’s rail infrastructure. A notable point raised by OPSFPR is that the sector is often in the awkward position of having to explain to customers why freight trains “take a week to travel 200 kilometres”.

At the meeting, rail freight organisation OPSFPR planned to raise various issues that bother the sector, writes Romanian publication Club Feroviar. The meeting was attended by representatives from rail freight companies, the transport ministry and the president of the OPSFPR.

Among the discussed topics were, for example, disruptive line closures. OPSFPR also laments the absence of the transport ministry and the country’s infrastructure manager in helping rail freight companies limit their financial losses when such closures occur.

Priority system needs to change

Due to the bad state of the country’s infrastructure, trains can “take a week to travel 200 kilometres.” Rail freight operators say that they need to explain to their customers why their services are so slow. The train delays and staffing shortage also compromise traffic and personnel safety, OPSFPR says.

The rail freight operators are asking the government to amend rules on the Romanian network. Primarily, empty passenger trains should not get priority over freight trains, they say. The Romanian state passenger operator currently runs empty trains to get funding from the government. It receives money for kilometres driven, rather than passengers transported.