RSS
Infrastructure: Analysis: Railways in Romania face unprecedented challenges
The railway system in Romania faces unprecedented challenges, in the context of applying the Fourth Railway Package by mid June 2019. In case the package is not efficiently managed there is the risk of losing competition at European level, as it will be impossible to compete against present or future players in the market, powerful from the economic point of view, experts in railway safety consider.
According to Sorin Catalin Hanci, an expert in railway safety at the Safety Unit of the EU Agency for Railways (ERA), the provisions of Railway Package IV, in particular those of the Technical Pillar, will significantly affect the activity of all transport operators in Romania, both state owned and private, as well as the railway infrastructure manager. The main purpose of the package is to set up a single European railway area, which supposes reform in the railway sector in EU by encouraging competition and innovation in domestic markets of passenger railway transport. The final result of this action is reaching high safety levels for railway transport for the increase of the level of modal competitiveness.
There are big changes at European level, of the way in which railway networks of member states are perceived. These changes are not recent, they were initiated following community strategies elaborated in the early 1990s, when ideas were introduced about modal competition in road, sea and air transport.
Changes were made especially in western EU states, where there is not operational borders, especially for high speed passenger trains. The only open discussions are in the field of operating goods trains.