Development strategy for the National Railway Company CFR -SA for 2001-2005

Railway infrastructure has an important role within the national transportation systems, and in the same time, within the international one. Permanently there are all sorts of debates regarding the role that non-polluting transportation modalities, which do not use wasting natural resources, will have in the future. Both the local administrations and the international organizations show a great interest in this case.
Railway transportation is most likely to be considered as the ideal transportation modality both for people and for freight, with the best conditions ever. The obvious advantages that make the picture for railway transportation, are: relatively specific reduced energy consume, minimum affectation of environmental factors, reduced affected area, more safety as compared to the other transportation modalities, social associating capacities, as well as the permanent possibility of improving and increasing the quality, (speed, safety and comfort) parameters.
It is obvious the fact that all the competent authorities in Romania must involve in the railway developing process, along with the National Railway Company - CFR - SA, which has a major role in this activity.

CFR - SA development strategy during the period of this present government mandate (2001-2005) stipulates the major changes that are going to be made for the railways and the railway infrastructure, in general. One example would be the case of an adequate integrating policy within the continental railway structures, by submitting to the regulations of European Union, a thorough economy related to the resources, in order to achieve a more qualitative administration of the infrastructure and to make it available for the railway operators, total integration in the dominant sector of the market economy, by proper exploitation and valorization of auxiliary income resources (patrimony, telecommunications) and by privatization of certain activities.
In order to complete the integration in the European Railway transportation system on the level of quality standards as requested, it is imperious necessary for the modernization programs to be conceived by CFR- SA as to correlate with the strategic objectives established by the International Railway Union (UIC).
UIC has created a document called “Vision”, which describes among other things, the main strategic ideas for the development of the European railway activity, and the collaboration plan with the European Union in the field of railway transportation development, until 2015.
Based on the Vision specification, UIC “RAIL Plan” present certain objectives, plans, activities and projects, such as:
- Settling out the future structure plan for the railways, including the strategy and the necessary activities for its achievement;
- Priority for projects and activities of strategic importance for the development of international transportation services for persons and freight;
- integration of the most important planning activities of UIC within one unitary document.

Several provisions, which are considered to be representative for a thorough application of the general policies as necessary for the harmonious development of the railways on the European level, have been elaborated within the European Union Commission.
The main principles are acknowledged by the legislative system of Romanian railway transportation and represent the support for the development and improvement activity of CFR - SA. Among the most important documents, we could count the following:
Council Decision no. 91/440/EEC/July 1991, which stipulates that:
    - transportation market within the European Union is an “essential element of the internal market”, internal market being the unique market of the member states;
    - railways are considered to be “a vital element for the Community transportation sector”;
    - railways companies should be oriented their commercial structures toward an independent basis, under the conditions of regulations regarding the free access on the infrastructure and free competition within the internal market of the European Union.
Council Decision 95/19/EC/ June 1995, whose incentives are to delineate each of the railway infrastructure capacities and to cash out all the accounts receivable necessary for commissioning the infrastructure; it also stipulates the realization of a unitary system of repartition of the railway infrastructure capacities.
Council Decision 95/18/EC/ June 1995 stipulates:
    - granting of licenses for railway companies, mainly of the licenses regarding railway companies that perform activities in compliance with the Article 10 of Decision 91/440/CCE;
    - recognition of licenses granted by one of the member states in all of the states belonging to the Community;
all the necessary conditions for granting the licenses to any railway company.
Council Regulation no 1107/70/EEC/ June 1970 presents as necessary conditions for the improvement and coordination of transportation the following: financial assistance for railway and road transportation and for the inner navigating routes; establishing the rules for allocating financial support to road and railway transportation and for the inner navigating routes.

In order to related the provisions of the governmental program for 2001-2005, CFR - SA has already developed a strategy based on a coherent policy in compliance with the EU mechanisms, aiming especially at the infrastructure improvement and development, its revitalization and re-technologic improvement process.

The main strategic objectives of CFR - SA for 2001-2005 are:
    - the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure on the projected safety parameters by maintaining the repairing cyclic process for the infrastructure elements;
    - inuring the interoperability with the European railway transportation systems, by adjusting to the technical and operable parameters of the latter;
    - using our own production of reference points to European standards;
    - improving the efficiency of the maintenance activity for the infrastructure by increasing the mechanization level of works and labor productivity, process that will lead to a relevant costs diminishing procedure;
    - implementing and maintaining a proper quality system;
    - implementing new methods and market procedures regarding the trading operations for transportation modalities;
    - repartition of permanent maintenance works for the secondary rails to certain specialized companies outside the CFR - SA,      - while the personnel of CFR - SA will be in charge with the control and supervision of the perfected works;
    - insuring a non-discriminatory access on the infrastructure and encouraging the private railway operators;

Another objective pursued by CFR - SA is represented by the promotion and maintenance of a permanent dialogue with the international financial, institutions such as FMI, EBRD, BEI, EU, IBRD, in order to establish a real partnership and a confident climate.

Improving traffic safety and quality control system as well as the environment protection

Romanian Railways have now a series of norms and provisions regarding traffic safety control. The main provisions about the prevention and the treatment for the railway events are included in the No. 003 Instruction manual for preventing and research of railway accidents and events, approved by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Transportation No. 210/July 14, 2001. Both the personnel in charge with the traffic safety control and the licensed railway operators must submit to the specific provisions and instructions regarding the railway field as related to traffic safety of trains.
As a result of the restructuring process of the Romanian Railways, statistics showed the number of events on the railway infrastructure decreased and is going to decrease; both the railway accidents and the damages resulted from unpleasant railway events are getting lesser each year.
Implementing the quality system represents a complex field that helps us to satisfy in an optimal way the public, social and defense interest, as well as to integrate within the European transportation system. CFR - SA’s task is to offer some various services and products, the realization of which demands the organization, implementation and maintenance of a quality system in accordance to the national and international norms and provisions.
CFR - SA intends to insure the quality objective, for 2001-2005, fact that is also recommended in ISO 9000 series international standards, according to which, it will have access on the railways only those products and services that comply with at least the quality standards as stipulated in the national and UIC norms.
In order to be able to do this, for acquiring the necessary railway equipment, several tasks are going to be seriously considered, as follows:
    - technical assistance in compliance with the applicable norms and regulations of the common acquisition;
    - financial disbursements for founding the railway regulatory institutional authority.

As related to the environment protection CFR intends to complete the following objectives:
    - implementing for the railway transportation network the principle “He who pollutes, will pay”, by creating a penalty system;       - the money obtained in this way will be used for externalizing the environment regeneration costs;
    - applicability of some technical regulations within the Company (using such technology that should allow the energetic        consume to decrease and to renounce at the traditional energy sources, remedies that will directly affect the pollution;
    - procedures for recuperating the polluted soils with chemical substances, especially in the case of petrol pollution; study on the possibility of using alternative methods for the vegetation control in order to renounce at herbicides use;
    - involving at a national level in the process of implementation of programs for recycling the toxic materials whose treatment presupposes complex installation systems on various types of materials that result from the railway activity.

Rehabilitation of railway infrastructure on the level of projected traffic safety parameters

For 2001-2005 CFR has elaborated a program that will help to the maintenance, current and capital repairing working procedures for the existing assets, on a volume that presupposes both the current technologic equipment infrastructure and the necessity of improving it.
For rehabilitating and maintaining the projected and traffic safety parameters they have established two major objectives:
    - maintenance works on the volume and level imposed by the intensity of traffic and the rail and equipment ware and tear;
    - maintaining an adequate program for the annual volume of capital repairing works, in order to eliminate within a five-year period the existing receivables for this type of repairing works, covering this way, the degrading process.

In order to achieve this goal it is necessary to increase the annual rail repairing works rhythm, especially for rehabilitating the thoroughfare rails that belong to the European corridors.
In 2001, the necessary of works involves 700 km of capital repairing works, of which 100 km represents the volume of rehabilitating works on the European corridors. Works on the 4 Corridor routes and on Bucharest-Brasov and Bucharest - Constanta, and Bucharest - Sighisoara - Curtici and Ploiest - Vicsani routes are going to be started.
For capital repairing works on supervising and signaling installations, the annual programs will include the following:
    - replacing the CEM installation devices with simple and remote control desk CED installation devices;
    - replacing certain parts of the present CED within small railway stations, coupled with the information displaying command desk;
    - replacing the switch mechanisms type EM-4 oe WSSB with modern electric mechanisms;
    - modernization of electric power feeding supply of CED installations (batteries with reduced or without maintenance, highly efficient installations);
    - modernization of BAT and Sat installation devices by introducing new maneuver and signaling equipment;
For capital repairing works on the immovable installation devices of electrical traction, between 2001-2005 the annual programs include also:
    - capital repairing on the contact rail;
    - commuting equipment replacing in electrical traction sub-units;
    - improvement of the secondary circuits from the electrical traction sub-units, information of the DEF operative supervising command posts.

The entire equipment and tools necessary for the maintenance and repairing works will be insured with the already existing one, which will be improved with the Company’s funds. There is also an investment program stipulating that for the improvement of the technical-economic parameters to acquire all the necessary equipment for infrastructure maintenance.
CFR - SA has as a main objective for this period, to eliminate as soon as possible the already existing outstanding works in comparison with the European demands both related to the technical level and to the facilities offered for exploiting the railway network.
In the field of the signaling and supervising installations, several objectives have already been completed, among which we could count: the electronic signaling installation from Ploiesti Sud railway station, which will be commissioned this year; signing of the agreement with PHARE for financing the project of implementing in the Bucharest North Center (Bucharest Baneasa, Bucurestii Noi, Pajura and Post Giulest railway stations as well as in the CF Arad, Timisoara and Brasov railway stations the electronic centralization system.
Among other projects, CED Vidra and Timisu de Sus is going to be completed in the near future.
As related to the rails and rail operators, CFR is going to introduce the system based on UIC-60 rails, with long platforms (welded rails), flexible needled and mobile hearted rail switchers, concrete sleepers based on elastic attachments; an atelier for welding the SLS 300 meter long rails is going to be created in Ploiesti.
The project called CFR Railway Telecommunication Network Modernization, for the telecommunication installations field, is now in the final stage. This project has been developed by CFR Telecommunication Agency, under the contract signed between World Bank and SNCFR, in 1996.
The next strategy for this field includes five main directions that CFR - SA should follow:
    - obtaining the telecommunication statute on the market that will be free on January 1, 2003;
    - obtaining the financial funds for extending the thoroughfare of fiber-optics cables and digital equipment devices for 1.325 km on railway routes: Sibiu - Ramnicu Valcea - Piatra Olt - Pitesti - Caransebes - Orsova - Drobeta Turnu Severin, Satu Mare - Oradea - Arad, Craiva - Clafat, Veresti - Botaosani, Bacau - Piatra Neamt, Rosiori - Alexandria, Medgidia - Tulcea, Sfantu Gheorghe - Ciceu - Deda - Dej, Titu - Targoviste - Ploiesti;
    - introducing the GSM - R installation on 4 Corridor Curtici - Brasov - Bucharest - Constanta;
    - Insuring the interconnecting activity through digital equipment devices of railway stations from all county residence cities;
Diversifying the added value telecommunication services, such as Internet provider, e-mail, support for electronic trading activities, etc.
Another active component of the general developing strategy of the Company is also the strategy of information of the CFR - SA, having as main objectives:
    - Using the latest information technology in order to increase the access on information;
    - Developing the interoperability activity with other infrastructure administrators from Europe in order to integrate in the European system;
    - Offering a high quality service for clients in the railway stations, especially services that allow the access on information related to the transport possibilities, to prices and to the other services which are provided by CFR;
    - Maintaining an appealing policy for other new freight or public transportation operators.
This is s brief presentation of the provisions included in the strategy for development of the National Railway Company CFR - SA for the period between 2001-2005; together with the professionals from the Company we will continue to develop all our projects and programs, which will allow us to integrate the Romanian railways within the European railway transportation system.

Reporting, Silvia Mitulescu and Ion Cutieru