The first railway in the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

opened in 1869 and linked

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and

Giurgiu Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...

. The first railway on electric current in the current

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n territory opened in 1854, between

Oravița Oravița (; hu, Oravicabánya; german: Orawitz; cs, Oravice; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Oravica, separator=/, Оравица) is a town in the Banat region of Romania, in Caraș-Severin County, with a population of 11,382 in 2011. Its theater is a fully fu ...

and

Baziaș Socol ( ro, Socol, sr, Сокол/Sokol, or Соколовац/Sokolovac, hu, Nérasolymos) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Romania (in the ''Clisura Dunării'' area of Banat). In 2011, the population of the commune numbered 1,873 people ...

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

, right next to the border with Serbia; however, that region was under the administration of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

at the time, and became part of Romania after World War I. Since then, the Romanian railway network has been significantly expanded, and is now the fourth largest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

by total track length, comprising . Of these, some are electrified. The route length is . Romania's railway system is inadequately-connected and one of the least durable railway systems globally.Newsroom
Featured - "Railway reform": Destroy half of the national railroad network and fire 10,000 people
Romania Business Review, retrieved on 9 June 2019
Archived at the wayback machine
"Romania’s Government issued a memorandum regarding 'methods of increasing efficiency in the country’s railway system'. The document represents a necessity for the Transport Master Plan which has already been approved by the Executive. The memo includes drastic measures such as eliminating several routes spanning 4,000 km and reducing the national rail-network to just 6,200 km. Among the routes that could be closed down there is București-Oltenița, Galați-Bârlad and Iași-Botoșani, leaving tens of communes and villages isolated.." Romania is a member of the

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (UIC, french: Union internationale des wikt:chemin de fer, chemins de fer) is an international rail transport industry body. History The railways of Europe originated as many separate concerns, and there wer ...

(UIC). The

UIC Country Code The UIC Country Code is a two digit-number identifying countries in which members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) are active. The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock (UIC wagon numbers) and stations that include the coun ...

for Romania is 53.

Operators

The network used to be operated by

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is , of which (38.5%) are electrifie ...

, the state railway company, but since 1998, a number of private companies have begun operations in passenger and/or freight transport. * Regiotrans *

Grup Feroviar Român Grup Feroviar Român, or simply GFR, is the largest private railway company in Romania and one of the largest in South Eastern Europe. Founded in 2001, the company owns freight operations in Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece Serbia, Ukraine, Moldo ...

Servtrans Servtrans is a railway private company from Romania. The main activity is the railway transport as well as the logistics required by this sort of activity. During 2005, it realized the freight of 6% of the transported goods on the Romanian railway. ...

* Softrans *

Transferoviar Grup Transferoviar Grup (TFG) is a private railway company in Romania, founded in 2003. Initially the company only operated freight trains but in 2010 it also started passenger services. Besides freight hauling, it is the administrator of a few leas ...

* Unifertrans * Astra Trans Carpatic CFR's rail freight division became CFR Marfă. ÖPNV-Systeme in Südosteuropa

Rail links with adjacent countries

* Same gauge 1435mm: **

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

– Multiple crossings (from North to South -

Carei Carei (; , ; /, yi, , ) is a city in Satu Mare County, northwestern Romania, near the border with Hungary. The city administers one village, Ianculești ( hu, Szentjánosmajor). History The first mention of the city under the name of "Karul ...

Valea lui Mihai Valea lui Mihai (; hu, Érmihályfalva) is a town in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania. Geography It is located around 66 km north-east of Oradea, 9 km from the Hungarian border in Bihor County, Crișana, Romania. History In 1312, und ...

, Episcopia Bihor,

Salonta Salonta (; hu, Nagyszalonta, italic=no, colloquially , ; ger, Grosssalontha, italic=no; tr, Salanta, italic=no) is a municipiu, city in Bihor County, in the geographical region of Crișana, north-western Romania, near the Hungarian border. Po ...

Curtici Curtici ( Hungarian: ''Kürtös'', German: ''Kurtitsch'') is a town located in Arad County, in western Romania. The town is situated at a distance from the county capital, Arad, in the western part of Arad County. It is the most important railwa ...

. Multiple daily passenger frequencies to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and beyond (only to

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...

Mosonmagyaróvár Mosonmagyaróvár (; german: Wieselburg-Ungarisch Altenburg; also known by other alternative names) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County in northwestern Hungary. It lies close to both the Austrian and Slovakian borders and has a population ...

Hegyeshalom Hegyeshalom (; german: Straß-Sommerein) is a village of approximately 3600 inhabitants in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary, on the border with Austria and less than 15 km from the border with Slovakia. History A charter given by Andrew I ...

, and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

for the moment) from

and from many cities within

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. Both networks electrified at 25 kV, 50 Hz AC (only electrified crossing at

/ Lokoshaza). **

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

– crossings at

Jimbolia Jimbolia (; hu, Zsombolya; german: Hatzfeld; sr, Жомбољ, Žombolj; Banat Bulgarian: ''Džimbolj'') is a town in Timiș County, Romania. Geography Jimbolia is located in the west of Timiș County, 39 km from Timișoara, with which it is ...

and Stamora Moravița. As of March 2020, no passenger rail transport from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

via

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

and

Vršac Vršac ( sr-cyr, Вршац, ; hu, Versec; ro, Vârșeț) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the city urban area had a pop ...

. No electrified crossings. **

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

– crossings at

Calafat Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bri ...

and Negru Vodă. Daily passenger service to

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

and beyond (

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) from Bucharest. No voltage issues (currently no electrified crossings, Calafat-Vidin crossing electrification is planned, same voltage, 25 kV, 50 Hz AC. **

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

– Dual gauge crossing at

Halmeu Halmeu ( hu, Halmi, ; yi, האַַלמין) is a commune of 4,845 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of five villages: Until World War II, the village was home to a Jewish community, which numbered 479 souls in 18 ...

. Crossing not electrified. Currently freight only. Dual gauge line enables standard gauge connections with

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

through Chop. *

Break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

: **

– Break-of-gauge /. Crossings at Vicșani,

Valea Vișeului Valea may refer to several places in Romania: * Valea, a village in Urmeniș Commune, Bistrița-Năsăud County * Valea, a village in Pietrari Commune, Dâmbovița County * Valea, a village in Bolboși Commune, Gorj County * Valea, a village in Z ...

and

Câmpulung la Tisa Câmpulung la Tisa ( hu, Hosszúmező; Ukrainian and Rusyn: Довге Поле) is a commune in Maramureș County, Maramureș, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Câmpulung la Tisa. The commune lies on the left bank of the river Tisza ...

(including bogie conversion systems).

Dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...

(4 rail) track exists between Tereseva (Ukraine)/Câmpulung la Tisa –

Sighetu Marmației Sighetu Marmației (, also spelled ''Sighetul Marmației''; german: Marmaroschsiget or ''Siget''; hu, Máramarossziget, ; uk, Сигіт, Syhit; yi, סיגעט, Siget), until 1960 Sighet, is a city (Municipalities of Romania, municipality) in ...

– Valea Vișeului, going back into

. Ukrainian trains (both freight and passenger services) occasionally use this route without stopping within Romania. International passenger services exists between

and

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

(and onwards to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) via Vicșani (operated by CFR, with UZ and

RZD Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both mana ...

cars) and between Sighetu Marmației and

Teresva Teresva ( uk, Тересва, german: Theresiental, ro, Teresva, hu, Taracköz, sk, Terešva) is an urban-type settlement in Tiachiv Raion (district) of Zakarpattia Oblast (region) in western Ukraine. It is situated at the confluence of the ri ...

(operated by UZ). Crossings are not electrified. **

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

– Break-of-gauge /. Crossings and bogie changers exist at

Ungheni Ungheni () is a municipality in Moldova. With a population of 35,157, it is the seventh largest town in Moldova and the seat of Ungheni District. There is a bridge across the Prut and a border checkpoint to Romania. There is another border t ...

(Moldova) and

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

- Reni. Crossings not electrified, as the Moldovan Railways network has Diesel traction only. Daily passenger service to

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

from Bucharest. Multiple daily services from

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

Operators

Rail links with adjacent countries

References

See also