Heat causes road traffic, rail speed restrictions in Romania

Restrictions on both roads and rail across Romania could slow down traffic amid the expected heat wave in the coming days. Both the roads & highways company CNAIR and the railway operator CFR announced that they consider taking several safety measures these days, given the extreme heat alerts in Romania. CNAIR announced that it might introduce a temporary traffic restriction on Thursday, June 29, for the vehicles with a maximum authorized total weight of over 7.5 tons. The traffic would be restricted on the motorways and national roads in the counties affected by the orange code, namely Caras-Severin, Mehedinti, Dolj, Olt, and Teleorman. However, there are some exceptions. For example, big vehicles transporting people, livestock, water, first aid equipment or agricultural products, those participating in force majeure interventions, as well as the funeral and postal transports will still be able to travel on those roads. “Traffic restriction is necessary to protect the asphalt road sections on which the high daytime temperatures can cause irreversible major deformations that can lead to the loss of road traffic stability,” reads the statement from CNAIR. Meanwhile, state-owned railway operator CFR SA announced that the speed of passenger and freight trains would be reduced by 20-30 km/h, at certain time intervals and on certain sections, when the track temperature will exceed 50 degrees Celsius. It could apply this measure starting today, June 28, until the end of the week. Thus, CFR recommends passengers to check the train schedules before leaving on a trip. Five counties in Romania will be under an orange alert of extreme heat on Thursday, June 29, namely Caras-Severin, Mehedinti, Dolj, Olt, and Teleorman. Here, the temperatures will go up to 39 degrees Celsius, and can even reach 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. Meanwhile, the rest of Romania will be under a yellow alert for heat, with three exceptions, namely Satu Mare, Maramures, and Salaj counties. The temperatures will stay at around 36 degrees Celsius on Thursday, June 29, including in capital Bucharest. Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com