Romania's railway network was labeled in a catastrophic state due to lack of interest by authorities in a recent article by the Associated France Press. With the number of cars tripling in the last 20 years in Romania and with the degrading railways in the country, fewer and fewer passengers are choosing to ride the trains run by state-owned CFR. The company itself has been posting losses and has decided to increase the cost of a train ticket to somehow balance the loss.

Robin Martens' first contact with Romania was in the early 90s, when he worked on the master plan for the port of Constanta. He has seen how doing business was in Romania back then and upon his return in 2001, he started to see the step-by-step changes. He has talked to Romania Insider about the things that shaped his life and about the principles he applies in business and in life.

Proffice, a company in the RTC group, expects to reach a ten percent market share on the encapsulated coffee products for office consumption in the next two years, a market with a potential of EUR 10 million, according to the company.

The recent International Monetary Fund and European Union announcement that they have halted talks with the Hungarian government which were supposed to unlock a new loan installment for the country has sent the Hungarian currency down on Monday, according to international media.

Former soccer player and current investor Gica Popescu (in picture) will invest EUR 10 million in a retail center in Rahova area of Bucharest, which will be called Doldora Bazaar, the businessman has announced. The retail center, which will sell both en-gross and en-detail products, will be built on the premises of a former industrial platform in the city.

Local Indie band The Amsterdams will open for the Cranberries concert in Bucharest on Tuesday, July

Romanians flocked to the seaside last week-end, when the number of tourists in the local seaside resorts reached 80,000, according to official statistics. The number however includes only the tourists which checked into hotels, without taking into account those who have stayed at individuals who rent their places for the summer.

The energy consumption in Romania, which was down in Romania last year on the previous, has actually managed to increase in the first seven months of this year, by 5.23 percent, compared to the same period of last year.

Enel Gren Power Romania and local company Elcomex will together build a wind farm in Dobrogea, the

Romanian media

Dacia to export over 1.5bn euros’ worth of Duster SUVs next year – in Ziarul

With 6,000 houses damaged by the recent floods and no previous home insurance, the Romanian state will have to pay out EUR 400 million to rebuild some of these houses and the other damaged caused by flooding in the country. Government representatives estimate the value of the damages could even reach EUR 450 million, according to Mediafax newswire.

Cultural and agricultural festival Transilvania Fest, which will take place between July 30 and August 1st this year at Biertan, near Sibiu, will feature local craftsmen, cooks from Transylvania and from the UK who will prepare traditional food.