Blizzard returns to Romania: Highways and roads closed, dozens of trains cancelled

The bad weather continues to affect the southern and southeastern parts of Romania, as another blizzard hit these areas last night, causing chaos on the roads and in the cities. Three highways are currently closed, namely A2 Bucharest-Constanta, A3 Bucharest-Ploiesti, and A4 Ovidiu-Agigea, according to data from the Romanian Police. Moreover, dozens of national roads from Constanta, Tulcea, Calarasi, Ialomita, Braila, Galati, Buzau, Vrancea, Ilfov, Giurgiu and Prahova counties were also closed this morning. The authorities also introduced traffic restrictions on some other national roads in Olt, Ilfov, Giurgiu, Brasov, and Calarasi counties. More information about the roads’ condition can be found here (in Romanian). Also, almost 100 trains were canceled on Wednesday morning, including some linking Bucharest to Constanta seaside resort, and others were registering delays of up to 4 hours. According to local Hotnews.ro, CFR Calatori also stopped selling tickets in Ploiesti’s Gara de Vest for the trains going to Bucharest, the rail traffic on this route being suspended. Find a list of canceled trains here. Things are better on the Otopeni Airport where only a few of the flights register delays. More information here. Last night’s snowfall also affected the traffic in Bucharest. On Wednesday morning, the traffic was stopped in the George Cosbuc area after part of the wall of the former Rahova brewery crashed. This has also affected some of the trams running in the area. However, given the weather conditions, Bucharest public transport company RATB has decided to increase the transport capacity by extending the circulation program for 70 trams, 228 buses, and 59 trolleys, according to a statement. The meteorologists issued new warnings of bad weather yesterday morning, which also target Bucharest. Moreover, a new yellow alert for low temperatures is in place until January 12, 10:00, covering the entire country. The schools in Bucharest will stay closed until Monday next week, mayor Gabriela Firea announced earlier this week. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com (photo source: Romania-insider.com)