Govt. to create new freight railway company “Carpatica Feroviar”

The Romanian government is expected to approve the creation of “Carpatica Feroviar,” a replacement for the current state freight railway company CFR Marfă, sometime this week.

The Ministry of Transport presented the draft law a month ago, and the creation of the new company is now officially registered and set for approval. The government will have its last meeting for 2022 this week.

CFR Marfă has been racking up losses for years but has not been dissolved by the government until now. Instead, the company was used to handle large shipments of grain coming from Ukraine. The country's agricultural exports had to be transported over land as its Black Sea ports were blockaded by the Russian navy at the start of the war.

The document presented by the Ministry of Transport argues that the state freight railway company provides a “service of strategic interest,” but that its many problems cause disruptions across the main sectors of the economy. In other words, if CFR Marfă somehow ceases to be active, the state must be able to provide railway transportation so as to not affect the market. It must also be able to provide transportation at a level required by the agreements between Romania and EU and NATO partners.

Military transport is mentioned as a priority in the document. “There is a need to establish a new viable company of national interest, to serve the defense needs of the country. Any delay in the adoption of the presented measures may jeopardize the activity of rail freight transport and may decisively affect the industries directly dependent on the resources held,” the document reads, according to Economedia.ro.

The war and its aftermath revealed the importance of railway freight transportation. Troops, equipment, machinery, weapons, humanitarian aid, not to mention grain, raw materials, and fuel, may depend on such methods of transportation, the ministry argues.

The new company that will replace the debt-ridden CFR Marfă will have a strategic and commercial role. It will aim to fulfill requirements pertaining to national security and obligations stemming from Romania’s international agreements. It will also strive to be independent of governmental funds, becoming self-sufficient in the railway transportation market.

(Photo source: CFR Marfa on Facebook)