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| Company type | State enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 30 March 1992; 33 years ago (30 March 1992) |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Serghei Cotelinic, CEO |
| Products | Rail transport,cargotransport,services |
| Owner | Moldova (state-owned) |
| Website | www.railway.md/ Timetable (in Romanian) |
Calea Ferată din Moldova (abbreviated asCFM) is the sole railway operator in theRepublic of Moldova, responsible for passenger and cargo transportation, as well as railway infrastructure maintenance within the country. The total length of the network managed by CFM (as of 2009) is 1,232 kilometres (766 mi), of which 1,218 kilometres (757 mi) are1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) (broad gauge), and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) are1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge). The entire network issingle track and is notelectrified. It borders theRomanian railway network, with a1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)break-of-gauge in the west, and theUkrainian one in the east.
Calea Ferată din Moldova (literally "Railway of Moldova" inRomanian) came into existence in 1991 as the successor to the former MŽD, a subdivision of SŽD, theRailway system of the Soviet Union.
In 1844, Governor-General ofNovorossiya andBessarabia CountMikhail Vorontsov has developed a project of a railway, connectingOdesa andParcani village by theDniester. Odesa-Kyiv railway company proposed to connect Odesa and Kyiv with a branch to Parcani viaTiraspol. According to the decree ofNikolay I, the construction was sponsored by government funds.
In 1871 a bridge over the Dniester was constructed. On 28 August 1871, the railway linking Tiraspol withChișinău was officially opened. This date is recognized as the date of establishment of Moldovan Railways. The line, connecting Bessarabia to the Black Sea and the railway network of Ukraine and Russia became the basis for future development.
On May 18 [O.S. May 6] 1872 a Russian diplomat agent, Ivan Alekseevich Zinov'ev and theRomanian Minister of Foreign AffairsGheorghe Costaforu signed a rail junction convention, which was ratified on January 21 [O.S. January 9] 1873.[1] On 1 June 1875, the line Chișinău-Cornești-Ungheni was opened (the Chișinău-Cornești railway was built between 1871 and 1873) and connection to Romania was established. TheEiffel Bridge was opened on April 21 [O.S. April 9] 1877, just three days before the outbreak of theRusso-Turkish War (1877–1878).
In the first months of the war theTighina-Basarabeasca-Reni-Giurgiulești line was hastily built; it opened in November 1877.In 1893-1894 theLipcani-Ocnița-Otaci, Ocnița-Bălți and Bălți-Florești-Rîbnița-Cobasna lines started operation.DuringWorld War I, in 1917, the Bălți-Ungheni section was built, which finally connected the Northern and the Southern lines.[2]
In the early 1920s, as Moldovahad united with Romania, the tracks were converted to standard gauge. In the interwar years the Basarabeasca-Cantemir andRevaca-Căinari lines appeared.
AfterWorld War II Moldova became part of the Soviet Union and the rail network reverted to broad gauge. During the Soviet era the Cantemir-Cahul line was built (1971).
In 2004, all property inTransnistria was taken over by the newly formedTransnistrian Railway (PŽD, Pridnyestrovskaja železnaja doroga).
In 2005, the Revaca-Căinari railway was reconstructed (it was destroyed in 1944) to bypass Transnistrian controlled Bender and reconnect the southern lines with the main network. In 2007-2008 the Cahul-Giurgiulești line was constructed.
The first freight train in 25 years travelled on the Basarabeasca-Berezino line from Ukraine in April 2023, the line having been recently renovated by a joint Moldova/Ukrainian team in just over a month. This line reopens an historic connection between Ukraine and Romania and bypasses Transnistria.[3]
An investment of EUR 71 million was agreed in 2023 for the reconstruction of the Balti-Valcinet-Ungheni and Chisinau-Cainari railway sections, part of the funding coming from theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU, with Moldovan railways putting in EUR 28 million, the aim being to facilitate grain traffic heading to the port ofConstanta from Ukraine.[4]
The EU proposed in 2023 that theirTrans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) be extended to Moldova and onwards to Ukraine with a standard gauge (1435mm) rail line, to assist in the integration of Moldova with EU rail networks. Starting with theUngheni, on the border with Romania, to Chisinau, by laying a new line alongside the existing 1520mm track, to avoid disruption to existing traffic.[5]
Most of the rolling stock used by CFM was manufactured in the USSR and other countries of theSoviet bloc. The most widespread type of traction unit is Soviet-built triple section3TE10M (sometimes only 1 or 2 sections are used). Their use in Moldova was motivated by steep gradients on some portions of the rail network (especially, in the regions with hilly terrains), where additional power was needed to pull heavy freight trains. Other popular types of locomotives areM62 ("Mashka") and 2TE10L. Sometimes,Czech-built shuntersChME3 are used as traction units for local passenger operations.
The only type ofDMU operated by CFM isD1, manufactured by HungarianGanz-MAVAG. However, in 2012 it underwent complete modernization (as D1M) at theElectroputere VFU factory inRomania, with most of the parts changed, including the installation of a new engine byVolvo. In addition, the refurbished units were equipped with an air conditioning system, wireless internet access points, and disability access ramps. The cost of the work is 2.2 million euros per unit. Overall, 15 units are expected to be rebuilt at the Remar factory. The first unit became the subject of significant controversy, as it was put into service before the renovation process was completed, in particular, the old gearbox was not changed, which resulted in the malfunctioning of the train. As of May 2013, the rebuilt train, with the optimized gearbox, was operating on theChișinău-Odesa line.[6]
In November 2018, CFM ordered 12TE33A locomotives fromGE Transportation for delivery in 2020.[7] The locomotives were delivered in July 2020.[8]
CFM personnel largely consist of Russian speakers, Russian being the language used in the process of operation. Notably, CFM chief executive Miron Gagauz, who held the post of the Minister of Transportation, was one of the few members of the Government who did not speak the official language of the country. Historically, CFM has had good relations with theCommunist Party of Moldova. In 2009, its employees signed a letter in which they condemned the opposition protests that followed the2009 parliamentary elections. They described the events as "an attempt to bring chaos into the country and to destroy everything positive that was built by the current government", claimed that "the elections were carried out in conformity with the international norms and national law on elections" and "the victory of the communists is a logical result of their eight-year stay in power", expressed "full support to the elected power", and called for "punishing the responsible". Eventually, after the defeat of thePCRM in the national elections, the management of the enterprise was changed.
Between Moldova and Romania there is abreak-of-gauge (Romania employingstandard gauge). The most important crossing (includinggauge changing equipment) isUngheni-Iași, another two areCantemir-Falciu andGiurgiulești-Galați.
International passenger trains run toBucharest,Iași,Kyiv,Odesa and used to operate toSaint Petersburg, andMoscow.
