Transportation infrastructure in

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

is the property of the state, and is administered by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Constructions and Tourism, except when operated as a concession, in which case the concessions are made by the Ministry of Administration and Interior. The country's most important waterway is the river

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

. The largest port is that of Constanța, which is the second largest port at the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. With over 13 million passengers Bucharest Airport is a major international airport and European transportation hub. Air travel is used for greater distances within Romania but faces competition from the state-owned CFR's rail network.

Public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

is available in most areas.

History

Romania has a system of large, navigable rivers, such as the

, Olt and Mureș that cross the country. The first important human improvements were the

Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

linking major settlements and providing quick passage for marching armies.

Railway transport

A fast-growing number of Romania's major cities have modern tram or light rail networks, including

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 ...

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_ ...

, Cluj-Napoca and Oradea. Recently the tram has seen a very big revival with many experiments such as ground level power supply in Oradea.

Roads and automotive transport

According to the

CIA Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

, in 2012 Romania had a total road network of 84,185 km, out of which 49,873 km were paved and 34,312 km unpaved. Romania's National Institute of Statistics ''(INS) 2019 transport report stated that total road network is 86,391 km: 38,166 km (44.2%) modernized roads (92.8% with asphalt

pavements Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway al ...

of heavy/medium type and 7.8% with

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

), 21,365 km (24.7%) with light

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

road clothing, 17,831 km (20.6%) cobblestone roads and 9,021 km (10.5%)

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

s.''

Motorways

Motorways are identified by A followed by a number. As of December 2022, Romania has 995 km of highway completed with more under planning or construction. In recent years, a master plan for the national motorway network has been developed and approved by the European Commission in July 2015. Currently the A1 motorway, part of the northern branch of the Pan European IV Corridor, is open on 456 km. Under construction are the segments Curtea de Argeș— Pitești (30 km).

Margina Margina ( hu, Marzsina; german: Marschina) is a commune in Timiș County, Romania. It is composed of nine villages: Breazova, Bulza, Coșevița, Coșteiu de Sus, Groși, Margina (commune seat), Nemeșești, Sintești and Zorani. Geography Margin ...

— Holdea (13 km) and Boița— Curtea de Argeș (73 km) have yet to start construction. It has a total length of 576 km. The A2 motorway was the first motorway in Romania opened on all its segments, with a length of 205 km. It links Bucharest to Constanța (junction with A4) The A3 motorway, which is the largest motorway project in Eastern Europe with a length of 588 km from

to Oradea (near the Hungarian border), is open on 173 km. The segment Chețani—

Câmpia Turzii Câmpia Turzii (; german: Jerischmarkt; hu, Aranyosgyéres) is a municipality in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania, which was formed in 1925 by the union of two villages, Ghiriș (''Aranyosgyéres'') and Sâncrai (''Szentkirály''). It was de ...

(15.7 km) is under construction. All segments between Nădășelu and Oradea have been tendered by the end of 2020. The remaining sections are still in the planned phase. The A4 motorway is operational on 22 km, from

Ovidiu Ovidiu (, historical name: ''Canara'', tr, Kanara) is a town situated a few kilometres north of Constanța in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. Ovidiu is quite small, with a population of around 12,000, and many wealthy inhabitants of ...

to Agigea (also known as the Constanța bypass). Another 45 km are planned, from Agigea to

Vama Veche Vama Veche (historical names: ''Ilanlâk'', ''Ilanlâc'', tr, Ilanlık) is a town in Constanța County, Romania, on the Black Sea coast, near the border with Bulgaria, at 28.57 E longitude, 43.75 N latitude. It is part of the commune of L ...

(at the border with

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 Macedo ...

). The A6 motorway is also part of the Pan European IV Corridor, but near

Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank and t ...

it starts as the southern branch, that connects the cities of

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 h ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

and

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 ...

. It has a length of 270 km, of which 11.4 km between A1 and Lugoj bypass are open. The A7 motorway starts from the A3 (near

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commune ...

), linking it to the region of Moldavia and further to the Ukrainian border. From its planned 450 km, 16 km are open near

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

, which serve as the bypass for that city. The A10 motorway is the first motorway which links two motorways in Romania: A1 (near Sebeș) and A3 (near

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europ ...

). It has 70 km, and since 2021, it has been operational on its entire length. The A11 motorway is a 135 km motorway, the second to connect A1 with A3 this time between Arad and Oradea, of which a 2.4 km stretch near Arad called the Arad bypass is open.

Statistics

According to the Romanian "Direcţia Regim Permise de Conducere şi Înmatriculare a Vehiculelor", in 2017 there were 7,635,000 vehicles (of which 1,320,230 in Bucharest), and 8,900,000 in 2019. It is estimated that by 2021 there will be more than 10 million registered cars in Romania. In 2016 62% of road fatalities occurred in urban area,European Commission, Traffic Safety Basic Facts on Urban Areas, European Commission, Directorate General for Transport, June 2018 Romania has 1189 fatalities in urban area, that is 60 killed in urban area per million inhabitants, or — × — more than EU average of 19. This makes Romania the EU member state with the most fatalities per million population, % more fatalities than the second country, Hungary.

Metro

Bucharest is the only city in Romania which has an underground railway system, comprising both the

Bucharest Metro The Bucharest Metro ( ro, Metroul din București) is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the large ...

and the light rail system of the Regia Autonomă de Transport București. Although construction was planned to begin in 1941, decades of delays meant the Bucharest Metro was only opened in 1979. It now forms the backbone of Bucharest public transport network with an average of 800,000 passengers during the workweek. In total, the network is 71 km long and has 53 stations. Proposals to build metros have been put forward for Cluj-Napoca and

Air transport

The air traffic in Romania reached 20.28 million passengers in 2017 and 23.19 million passengers in 2019. The national carrier of Romania is TAROM, the largest Romanian airline is Blue Air while Wizz Air has the largest share of Romania's air transport market.

Airports

There are 20 airports in Romania (estimated as of 2006). *Airports - with paved

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

s : 25 **''Runways over 3,047 m:'' 5 **''Runways from 2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 8 **''Runways from 1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 12 *Airports - with unpaved runways : 36 **''Runways from 1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 2 **''Runways from 914 to 1,523 m:'' 11 **''Runways under 914 m:'' 23 *

Heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

s 1 (2006) :''see: List of airlines of Romania and List of airports in Romania''

Water transport

Romanian companies operate over 700 ships of which 400 are registered in Romania. Romania's 110 shipping firms employ 12,500 personnel at sea and 15,500 on shore. Each year, 105 million tonnes of goods and 1 million passengers are transported by sea. Marine transport is responsible for 52% of Romania's imports and exports.

Ports

* With terminals: ** Port of Constanța (the largest port and shipyard in the

and one of the busiest ports in Europe) ** Port of Galați (on the

) ** Brăila (on the Danube) **

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names The ...

(on the Danube) * Other Black Sea ports: ** Mangalia **

Sulina Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania. History During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in th ...

** Năvodari * Other ports on the Danube: ** Giurgiu ** Drobeta-Turnu Severin **

Oltenița Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube fro ...

* Ports on the Danube-Black Sea Canal: ** Cernavodă **

Poarta Albă Poarta Albă (literally in en, White Gate) is a commune in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The commune is a port on the Danube–Black Sea Canal. Villages The following villages are included in the Poarta Albă commune: * Poarta Alb ...

** Constanța Sud ** Agigea

Waterways

As of 2006, there are 1,731 km of navigable waterways of which: * 1,075 km on Danube River * 524 km on secondary branches * 132 km on canals In 2004, according to europaworld.com, 19 million passenger-km and 4 billion ton-km were carried through these waterways.

Merchant fleet

The merchant marine has seen a dramatic drop in capacity during the first decade of the 21st century: * from 142 ships ( or over) totaling / 1999 * to 19 ships ( or over) / in 2007. These include: 13 cargo ships, 1 passenger ship, 2 passenger/cargo ships, 2 petroleum tankers, 1

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

. 50 other ships are registered in other countries:

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

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North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

10,

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

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Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-nor ...

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International sea-borne freight traffic

* Goods loaded: 18.2 million tons * Goods unloaded: 22.3 million tons (2004)

Pipelines

*Oil: 2,427 km *Natural gas: 3,508 km (2006)