| Transport in Romania |
|---|
| Companies |
| History |
|---|
| Companies |
| Industry |
| Rankings |
| Related topics |
Transportation infrastructure inRomania is the property of the state, and is administered by theMinistry of Transport and Infrastructure, Constructions and Tourism, except when operated as a concession, in which case the concessions are made by the Ministry of Administration and Interior.[1]
The country's most important waterway is the riverDanube. The largest port is that ofConstanța, which is the second largest port in theBlack Sea.
With over 13 million passengersBucharest Airport is a major international airport and European transportation hub. Air travel is used for greater distances within Romania but faces extreme competition from the state-ownedCFR's rail network.Public transport is available in most areas.
Romania has a system of large, navigable rivers, such as theDanube,Olt andMureș that cross the country.
The first important human improvements were theRoman roads linking major settlements and providing quick passage for marching armies.
A fast-growing number of Romania's major cities have modern tram or light rail networks, includingBucharest,Timișoara,Cluj-Napoca andOradea. Recently the tram has seen a very big revival with many experiments such asground level power supply inOradea.
According to theCIA Factbook, in 2022 Romania had a total road network of 85,387 km, ranking 59 in the world.[2]
Romania'sNational Institute of Statistics (INS) 2022 transport report stated that total road network is 86,336 km: 41,653 km (48,2%) modernized roads (94,1% with asphaltpavements of heavy/medium type and 5.9% withconcrete), 20,956 km (24.3%) with lightasphalt road clothing, 15,713 km (18,2%)stone paving (such assett paving orcobblestone roads) and 8,014 km (9,3%)dirt roads.[3]
Motorways are identified by A followed by a number. As of December 2024, Romania has 1,217.77 km of highway completed with more under planning or construction. In recent years, a master plan for the national motorway network has been developed and approved by the European Commission in July 2015.
Currently theA1 motorway, part of the northern branch of the Pan European IV Corridor, is open on 456 km. Under construction are the segmentsCurtea de Argeș—Pitești (30 km).Margina—Holdea (13 km) andBoița—Curtea de Argeș (73 km) have yet to start construction. It has a total length of 576 km.
TheA2 motorway was the first motorway in Romania opened on all its segments, with a length of 205 km. It links Bucharest toConstanța (junction with A4)
TheA3 motorway, which is the largest motorway project in Eastern Europe with a length of 588 km fromBucharest toOradea (near the Hungarian border), is open on 173 km. The segmentChețani—Câmpia Turzii (15.7 km) is under construction. All segments betweenNădășelu and Oradea have been tendered by the end of 2020. The remaining sections are still in the planned phase.
TheA4 motorway is operational on 22 km, fromOvidiu toAgigea (also known as theConstanța bypass). Another 45 km are planned, from Agigea toVama Veche (at the border withBulgaria).
TheA6 motorway is also part of the Pan European IV Corridor, but nearLugoj it starts as the southern branch, that connects the cities ofSofia,Istanbul andAthens. It has a length of 270 km, of which 11.4 km between A1 and Lugoj bypass are open.
TheA7 motorway starts from the A3 (nearPloiești), linking it to the region of Moldavia and further to the Ukrainian border. From its planned 450 km, 16 km are open nearBacău, which serve as the bypass for that city.
TheA10 motorway is the first motorway which links two motorways in Romania: A1 (nearSebeș) and A3 (nearTurda). It has 70 km, and since 2021, it has been operational on its entire length.
TheA11 motorway is a 135 km motorway, the second to connect A1 with A3 this time betweenArad and Oradea, of which a 2.4 km stretch near Arad called the Arad bypass is open.
According to the Romanian "Direcţia Regim Permise de Conducere şi Înmatriculare a Vehiculelor", in 2017 there were 7,635,000 vehicles (of which 1,320,230 in Bucharest),[4] and 8,900,000 in 2019.[5] It is estimated that by 2021 there will be more than 10 million registered cars in Romania.[5]
In 2016 62% of road fatalities occurred in urban area,[6] Romania has 1189 fatalities in urban area, that is 60 killed in urban area per million inhabitants, or 3.2 times more than EU average of 19. This makes Romania the EU member state with the most fatalities per million population, 42.9% more fatalities than the second country, Hungary.[6]
Bucharest is the only city in Romania which has anunderground railway system, comprising both theBucharest Metro and theBucharest Light rail system of theRegia Autonomă de Transport București.
The Bucharest Metro forms the backbone ofBucharest public transport network. Bucharest has a fairly extensive subway system consisting of five lines (M1,M2,M3,M4, andM5) run byMetrorex. In total, the network is 80.1 km (49.8 mi) long and has 64 stations,[7] with 1.5 km (0.9 mi) average distance between stops. It is one of the fastest ways to get around the city. The oldest metro line is M1, which was opened in 1979.[8] The newest metro line is M5, which was opened in 2020.[9] A sixth metro line,M6 line, is currently under construction.
As of 2024, Bucharest Metro is the only metro system in Romania; with a second one, theCluj-Napoca Metro, being under construction.
The air traffic in Romania reached 20.28 million passengers in 2017[10] and 21 million passengers in 2022.[11]
The national carrier of Romania isTAROM, whileWizz Air has the largest share of Romania's air transport market.[12]
There are 20 airports in Romania (estimated as of 2006).
Romanian companies operate over 700 ships of which 400 are registered in Romania. Romania's 110 shipping firms employ 12,500 personnel at sea and 15,500 on shore. Each year, 105 million tonnes of goods and 1 million passengers are transported by sea. Marine transport is responsible for 52% of Romania's imports and exports.
As of 2006, there are 1,731 km of navigable waterways of which:
In 2004, according to europaworld.com, 19 million passenger-km and 4 billion ton-km were carried through these waterways.
Themerchant marine has seen a dramatic drop in capacity during the first decade of the 21st century:
These include: 13cargo ships, 1passenger ship, 2 passenger/cargo ships, 2petroleum tankers, 1roll-on/roll-off.
50 other ships are registered in other countries:Cambodia 1,Georgia 15,North Korea 6,Malta 10,Marshall Islands 1,Panama 8,Sierra Leone 2,Saint Kitts and Nevis 1,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,Syria 4,Tuvalu 1, unknown 4.
