The European Championship also takes us to Romania
The Căile Ferate Române (CFR) is the state railway company, which serves a route network of approx. 20.077km
Passenger traffic is divided into regions. Trains of different types are used and also differ in travel speed and ticket costs.
- Regional (R)
- Interregio (IR)
- Intercity (IC)
Night trains are also common. Most of the time, the IR provides a fast connection between the cities, where reservations are compulsory, and the tickets are significantly more expensive than the slow regional trains.
Trains in Romania
Romania's electric locomotives are all replica, and in some cases specially developed versions of the 060 EA series and stem from the Swedish ASEA prototype. The 6-axle locomotives weighing over 100 tons quickly became export hits and can still be found at almost all railway companies in the Balkans.
The diesel locomotives also have a standard locomotive, namely the 060 DA series, the prototype was delivered from Switzerland in 1959.
The latest vehicles from the C.F.R. are diesel multiple units of the Desiro type. However, they are also used in long-distance transport.
Whoever wants to know more about the Romanian train history can continue reading here!
Route network in Romania
It was the Austrians who built the first railway line in the Romanian network in 1857 in order to reduce the travel time from Timisoara to Vienna to 36 hours.
3,292 km of the Romanian rail network are electrified and 2,707 km are two-lane. Due to investment backlogs and a lack of funds for maintenance, the infrastructure is outdated - as is the rolling stock, which means that it is slower to travel by train than by car. The expanded line from Bucharest to Constata is designed for 160 km / h - on other main lines, however, you only travel at 100 km / h. Sometimes with only about 50 km / h, due to the desolate superstructure.
Since Romania's accession to the EU, slow routes have been eliminated by subsidies. These however have not been used sufficiently to keep the rail network in the Balkans alive.
Train station Bukarest
The largest and most important train station in Romania is the pompous Bucharest Central Station. The Gara de Nord is a terminal station with 14 tracks and has a connection to 2 metro lines as well as trolleybus, bus and tram lines.
- After Romania's entry into the EU, the inside of the building was renovated.
- The Bucharest subway is located directly under the train station.
- Almost all Romanian main lines start or end in Gara de Nord.
- Originally the station was called Gara Târgoviştei, named after the adjacent street Calea Târgoviştei (today Calea Griviței).
- The station was built in 1868-1872.
- In 1895-1896 the eastern extension was built in a completely different style. The reason was the visit of the Austrian emperor for whom an 'emperor's hall' was needed.
- In Romania, the train length is based on demand.
- During the Second World War, Bucharest and its train station were bombed several times
Train museum Bucharest
The Museum of the Romanian Railways in Bucharest (Muzeul Cailor Ferate) is one of the oldest railway museums in Europe!
The idea for it came up in 1924 and the museum was opened in 1939. Above all, it should fulfill an educational mandate and contribute to the training of the CFR personnel. Nevertheless, general visitors have also been thought of and so the various activities of the railway, the riches and beauties of the country and the travel options of the CFR are presented in the Muzeul Cailor Ferate
At that time there was not only a building available but also an outdoor area. Unfortunately, most of the collection was bombed in 1944. In 1953, it was reopened at its current location, on the east side of the Gara du Nord train station. Since it had to be closed again in 1960 due to extensive renovations, it was reopened in June 1969. The museum has been presented in its current form since 2012 and has been part of the National Railway Qualification and Training Center since then.
The museum isn't big, but it is well stocked. The highlight is a model railway that was built in 2011 on 14x4m and represents a section of the Romanian railway world.
Furthermore, not only models of locomotives are exhibited, but also of devices and machines of the infrastructure.
Des weiteren werden nicht nur Modelle von Lokomotiven ausgestellt, sondern auch von Geräten und Maschinen der Infrastruktur.
A detailed report about Romanias train museum is available here
Water Valley Railway in Romania
A real railway adventure in Europe! The last steam-driven forest railway still travels on narrow gauge for the purpose of transporting wood to the lonely forests in the border region Romania / Ukraine. The journey of several hours begins on the site of a huge sawmill in Viseu de Sus and leads on adventurous tracks into the unspoilt deep valleys of the Carpathians.
The water valley rail is protected as a Romanian cultural asset since 2010.
Tourists can expect dream landscapes and railroad nostalgia at its best. Some platform trucks have been prepared for them, which can be attached to order.
Sightseeing in Romania
Parlamentspalast
The Parliament Palace in Bucharest is the largest parliament building in the world and number one among the largest structures in Europe.
Wooden Churches
The wooden churches in the Maramureș have around 60 wooden church buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. They impress with their masterful architecture and beautiful paintings. Eight of the wooden churches were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999.
The sculpture
Decebalus' sculpture is Europe's tallest rock sculpture. Decebalus was the last king of Dacia, a country that encompassed parts of what is now Romania.
The 55 meter high statue was carved into the rock face by twelve sculptors. It took ten years to complete (1994-2004) and ended up costing over a million US dollars.
Castle of Bran
The historic Bran Castle is located on the Dietrichstein rock. It was built in 1357 as a border and customs castle until 1916 Romanian troops invaded and conquered the "Törzburg".
After Transylvania joined Romania, Kronstadt donated the castle to Queen Maria in 1920. The wife of King Ferdinand I had the castle rebuilt and restored. She also made it her primary residence, and the castle became the residence of the royal family.
After World War II, Romania became communist and the state took over Bran Castle. Under President Nicolae Ceaușescu, it was expanded into a tourist attraction, which today still attracts around 560,000 visitors a year.
The castle was returned on May 26, 2006 and the new owners opened the Törzburg as a museum on June 1, 2009. Objects and furniture owned by the Habsburg family are now on display there.
The castle is a listed building.
Romania in MSL
Next to the goods on wheels from CFRwe also offer great Romanian Highlights
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