Romania's railway passenger carrier CFR Calatori has issued over 240,000 free tickets and more than 3,000 monthly subscriptions for students in the first 20 days of this month.

Their value reached RON 10.8 million (EUR 2.9 million).

By comparison, students acquired 132,000 discounted tickets and over 250 subscriptions in the same period last year. The CFR Calatori trains’ occupancy increased by 20% on average.

In the first 20 days of the month, the “transport capacity has been increased every weekend day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), with a number of 30 to 80 wagons”, according to CFR Calatori.

In January this year, the Government approved an emergency ordinance granting free rail transport to full-time students of accredited higher education institutions in Romania. Before this, students benefited from a 50% discount for train rides.

editor@romania-insider.com