It said that, according to the authorities, state budget funds and CFR SA’s own revenues are insufficient for investments.
CFR SA, subordinated to the Transport Ministry, is in charge with administrating and maintaining the country’s railway infrastructure and its revenues come from road tolls paid by freight and passenger railway companies.
According to the report, state funds earmarked in 2009 for capital repairs accounted for 1.75% of total funds needed for repair works, compared with 12.76% in the 2000-2008 interval.
The sub-financing of the country’s railway infrastructure triggered speed restrictions, as part of traffic safety measures, and restricted access on certain high speed railway lines.
The report also says 642 bridges and footbridges countrywide must be urgently replaced and another 11,292 require capital repairs. It also indicates that 67 tunnels, out of a total 170, require capital repairs, which is also the case of traffic safety installations.
In October this year, the European Commission’s Energy and Transport Directorate chief Enrico Pasquarelli said road tolls for Romanian railway transport are very high compared to the European average. He also said at the time that passenger traffic on the Romanian market has decreased over the past few years, despite growing in the EU, stressing a viable strategy is needed on this segment.
According to Pasquarelli, passenger traffic on Romanian railroads has dropped 36% over the past seven years, compared to the other EU states, which have seen an average increase of 6.6%.