Local authorities take over historic narrow-gauge railway in central Romania

The Covasna County Council and Covasna City Hall have purchased the Covasna–Comandău narrow-gauge railway and funicular from the company Brafor SA, News.ro reported

The company has gone bankrupt, and the local authorities exerted their pre-emption right to purchase the assets, which cover buildings, land and the railway. The sum paid amounted to almost RON 1.5 million (EUR 313,807).

“The Covasna–Comandău narrow-gauge railway and the funicular are very valuable landmarks of the technical history of the Covasna county and city. We have been getting ready for years to save it from total destruction and bring it back to the tourist circuit. We finally had the opportunity to purchase legally some of the assets in Comandău of Brafor SA, which went bankrupt - most of the buildings on the plot of land of the former train station, including mechanical workshops, storage facilities, a timber making plant as well as 8.5 km-long rail lines and a 5.2 hectares plot,” Tamás Sándor, the president of the Covasna County Council said.

The company assets found on the administrative territory of the city of Covasna were purchased by the Covasna City Hall.

“We have purchased a plot of land of half of hectare, close to the Grand Station, a bridge over the Horgász stream in Valea Zânelor, which requires upgrade works, and a 19-km long railway line, departing from the station, going through Valea Zânelor and arriving at the administrative border of the Comandău commune,” Covasna mayor Gyerő József explained.

In time, the county of Covasna has purchased several steam-powered locomotives, diesel locomotives, passenger cars, and other type of train cars. The county is now working on a concept that would turn all of the assets into a tourist attraction, Sándor explained.

The Covasna–Comandău narrow-gauge line was built between 1889 and 1891. Between 1892 and 1999, it was used for the transport of wood from the Brețcului Mountains and the west and central part of the Vrancea Mountains to Covasna station (the main storage).

(Photo:Jan Pešula/Wikipedia)