Shunting yards

Some technical shunting yards, where the freight trains are assembled and disassembled, were established in some railway centers with more directions of travel.

The most important shunting yards are in Bucuresti, Ploiesti, Brasov, Coslariu, Dej and Palas-Constanta.

The biggest switchyard in the country is in Bucuresti, built between 1910-1913 under the name ChitilaTriaj.

The shunting yard was strongly affected by the bombardment of the World Wars (1916-1918 and 1941-1945).

Between 1940-1948, a new shunting yard called The New Bucuresti Triaj was built parallel with the old one in order to cover the demands of the existent traffic.

The first powered shunting yard in the country that had automatic track brake was put to use with a capacity of 4000 wagons per day, at Ploiesti in 1955.

Two shunting yards with equipment made in our country at Golesti and Coslariu, were put to use in 1977.

Other three shunting yards at Arad, Oradea and Suceava were put to use in 1979.
The powered shunting yard Socola with a capacity of 5400 wagons per day was established on December 30th 1982

The cybernetic powered shunting yard isle in Videle was opened in 1984.

In the '90s, 20 years later than in the western countries, the railway system got in a serious crisis that has determined very firm measures of dismissal. This crisis was due to the competition with other means of transport, especially the automotive one.

Through this dismissal it was intended an efficient administration, on commercial criteria of the activity, the creation of a future privatization of the railway system and the definition of the modality in which the state had to sustain financially this activity.

Thus, a national companies C.F.R. S.A. and other four commercial companies were developed from the old SNCFR.

The new organization of National Railways has imposed new principles of work of the Romanian railway system, like as:
- Exploitation and maintenance activities of public railway infrastructure are separated from that of operation ;
- The public and private railway patrimony is exploited on economic criteria operators;
- The access of different operators on the infrastructure is achieved in the terms of competition;
- The administration of the railway infrastructure is realized through the adoption of the cost-benefit analyze for each activity achieved.

The cost of the infrastructure use will be available only for the accomplishment of the operation, maintenance and current repairs, while the investments, renewals, developing, major repairs and the project of national importance that implies the integration of Romania in European transport network, will be assured by the state contribution through the contract of operation.

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