Broad gauge railway line in Romania’s Galati Port reopens after 22 years to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports

The broad gauge railway line in the Port of Galati in eastern Romania was reopened on Thursday morning, July 7, transport minister Sorin Grindeanu announced. “From this moment, the freight trains coming from Ukraine, via the Republic of Moldova, can unload the cereals directly in the Port of Galati without having to tranship at the border,” he said.

At the same time, state-owned company CFR Infrastructura also announced that the broad gauge railway line in Galati Port reopened on July 7, after 22 years. It also stressed its importance, explaining that the 3.58 km long railway line will “increase both the traffic on the Romanian territory but also of the grain transports from Ukraine, which will enter directly in the Port of Galati, on the border with the Republic of Moldova (CFM).”

Works to restore the broad gauge railway line in the Port of Galati started on June 6 and were completed almost a month earlier than the estimated deadline, minister Grindeanu said. CFR Infrastructura was in charge of the project.

Romanian authorities started several investments in ports and the rail infrastructure to speed up grain shipments from Moldova and Ukraine, as the traffic at the border increased since the start of the war.

(Photo source: Facebook/Sorin Grindeanu)