The coal in Romanian railway transportation (II)

The most recent coal mines were opened in 1956-1960, in the moment when the exploitation of energetic coals such as the lignite from the Oltenia-Motru-Rovinari, expand very quickly.
In 1956 the exploitation plant from Rovinari will be opened, and between 1966-1970, the activity in the exploitation plants from Plo?tina, Lupoaia, Ro?iu?a, carierele Balta Miresii, Gārla ?i Ciocanul will have been started.
Beginning with 1971, within Barc?ul basin, in Bihor county, the pits from Surplacul de Barc?u, Ipu, Pope?ti- Voievozi and many others will enter the production cycle.
The most recent day activities of lignite exploitation in the coal-bearing basin of Oltenia are those from Ro?ia-Jiud, Pe?teana - Jiu, as well as at Rogojelu, Albeni and Urdari mime pits, which were started after year 1980.
In 1973 Romania was placed on the 17th position world-wide, regarding the coal extraction activity, with an annual production in worth of 26 million tones within those five coal-bearing basins, as follows: 35% from Petro?ani, 34.5% from Oltenia de Nord, 11.4% from southern Carpathian Mountains, 10.8% from Valea Barc?ului, 5% from Baraolt and 3% from other exploitation plants, the coal being 33% pit-coal, 66% lignite and 1% brown coal.
At the beginning of the coal exploitation activity in our country, because of the rudimentary transportation means, metallurgic and iron and steel industrial enterprises begin to develop in the neighbourhood of the mine areas. As examples we have: O?elu Ro?u steel mill (1796), Re?i?a Rail plant (1851), Anina Coke factory (1854), C?lan iron mill (1863-1869) and many others.
The lack of the railways and roads could be considered without making any mistake, the cause, which for many years, have been limited the level of the coal exploitation activity, both on a national and international level.
The coal layers discovered in Valea Jiului in 1790 remained unexploited for almost sixty years, until the first railways were finally commissioned.
In 1833, the Internal Department of Valachia, concerned with the issue of coal transportation begun to make serious researches and studies regarding the possibility of navigating on the rivers of our country toward the Danube.
The desire of finding the optimal solution for a public, chip and rapid transportation modality for the coal extracted from the England’s mines, offered the world one of the most amazing discoveries of the world-wide civilisation - the railways.
Due to a happy coincidence, the first railway in the world, the one built in England and the one built on Romanian earth of Oravita - Buzias, were built only for the transportation of coals and are known in the history of the railways as the “coal’s rails”.
After having commissioned this particular railway within Banat Mountains on August 20, 1854, an entire railway network will emerged in almost all regions of the country, because of the existence of the coal mines.
Suffice to say that the coal production within Valea Jiului doubled in the year that followed the opening of the Petro?ani-Simeria railway, in 1870.
We will try to present you 24 railways from the entire railway network, whose existence on the map of Romania is considered to be the coalmines.
1. Oravita-Bazias railway (62.5 km) is the oldest railway route ever known in Romania. .
The construction works began in 1846 and were finished in August 20, 1854, when the first wagons carrying the coal from Anina mines to the Austrian ships from Bazias harbour, started to travel.
Between Anina and Oravi?a mines, the coals were transported on a railway on which it was used the horse traction, whereas on the climbing areas they used funicular devices. The railway was used until December 15,1863 when the Oravi?a-Anina railway on steam traction was finally finished.
2. Oravita-Anina railway (33 km) was built in Semenic Mountains in order to replace the old railway on horse traction.
On December 15, 1863 the first coals are transported from Anina area to Oravita and the Danube.
3. Simeria-Petrosani railway (79 km), built by the Klein Austrian company for coal transportation from the Valea Jiului mines to Simeria, made the connection with the main route from Alba Iulia-Simeria-Arad-Budapesta-Viena and will have opened the way for Austro-Hungarian Empire toward the coal richness of Valea Jiului.
It is no wonder that Arad is connected with Budapest through Curtici (25.10.1858) and with Alba Iulia (22.12.1868), for facilitating the interests of Austria regarding the coals ores of Valea Jiului.
4. Simeria-Hunedoara railway (15 km) for transportation of coals from Valea Jiului to the modern cast-iron furnace, was commissioned on June 1, 1884 in the same year when the construction works with respect to the great steel mill from Hunedoara were started.
5. Golesti-Cāmpulung railway (54 km) was commissioned on August 1, 1887 in order to set out the problem of transport regarding the coals from Schitul Gole?ti (1880) to the Capital or the Danube.
6. Livezeni-Lupeni railway (18 km) is a natural extension of Simeria-Petro?ani railway toward the coal ores from Lupeni, which had waited since 1850 until 1887 for this railway to be built in this area.
7. Filiasi-Tārgu Jiu railway (70 km) is a branch from the main route of Bucharest-Vārciorova, finished on July 1, 1888, and is considered as an attempt of crossing the Carpathians through Valea Jiului toward Transilvania.
After the Great Union, many efforts will be made for almost 30 years in order to accomplish this connection and only after the Bumbesti-Livezeni route had been finished , this railway could be regarded as “the coals’ railway”.
8. Oravita-Berzovia railway (59 km) was built and commissioned on February 1, 1896 in order to facilitate the transportation of coal from Anina, Secu or Valea Jiului mines to Resita steel mill, where the first steam heavy merchant mill had started to function after 1845, and in 1851, the first rail mill was put on use, whereas after 1864, the first coal carbonisation installation from Anina had been commissioned.
9. Targu Ocna-Comanesti railway (23,41 km) was inaugurated on November 27, 1898 for the transpiration of coal from Comanesti to Iasi and the Danubian harborurs.
10. Sibot-Cugir railway (13 km) was built on April 19, 1906, as a branch of the Alba Iulia-Arad thoroughfare, for insuring the transportation of coal from Valea Jiului to Cugir, where it was built ever since 1850 the first puddling furnace - a procedure obtaining steel out of cast iron.
11. Subcetate-Caransebes railway (77 km) was built on December 19, 1908 to shorten the transportation route from Valea Jiului to the old Otelu Rosu metallurgic centre, but especially for insuring the consume of the industrial complex of Resita.
12. Calnic-Resita (5 km) is a natural extension accomplished on November 28, 1908 at Resita industrial complex for the transportation of coals, as a result of the development of the industrial area.
13. Targu Jiu-Bumbesti railway (16 km), commissioned on April 1, 1916, for the strategic assistance of the Romanian army. 32 years after Bumbesti - Livezeni route had been finished, it will become the most authentic coal’s railway, which will begin from Valea Jiului toward the Capital or the big thermal-electrical centres.
14. Resita-Caransebes railway (41 km) was built on October 15, 1938, insuring a direct link of the Resita industrial centre with the main railway network, reducing this way the coal transportation distance up to 150 km, between Resita and Caransebes.
15. Ion Luca Caragiale-Filipestii de Padure railway (12 km) was commissioned on July 1, 1946 for the cola transportation from Ceptura and Filipestii de Padure mines toward Doicest thermal plant.
16. Bumbesti-Livezeni railway (31 km) was started in 1924 and, because of many reasons, was finished only after October 22, 1948; being one of the most difficult routes in the whole country, it was conceived as a platform of the national railway median of the West, Oradea-Vascau-Varfurile-Brad-Deva-Simeria-Filiasi-Craiova.
Being considered as an authentic coal railway, it insured the link between Valea Jiului, on the shortest route, to the ancient kingdom, naturally taking over the already used coal transportation routes that made Predeal and Gimbes pass to have a very heavy traffic.
17. Augustin-Capeni railway (5 km), was inaugurated in 1958 and designated only for the coal transportation from the mines within Baraolt region (Varghis-Capeni-Baraolt) toward the network up to the thoroughfare Brasov-Sighisoara-Oradea.
18-23. Oltenia region railways
The first lignite exploitation daily activities are to be opened starting with 1956, within Rovinari-Gorj area, on the carriers of Balta Unchesului, Ciocani or Garla Balacesti, where heavy rotating excavators were used.
Starting with 1960, once the massive underground daily exploitation activity for lignite ores within Oltenia region begun to develop, six other railways were built for facilitating the coal transportation to the important consumers, such as the Mintia, Doicesti, Oradea, Paroseni, Rovinari and other thermal power plants:
18. Strehaia-Motru (31 km), built in 1962;
19. Tārgu Jiu-Turceni-Filiasi (77 km), built in 1967;
20. Turceni-Dragotesti (28 km), built in 1967;
21. Amaradia-Barsesti (8 km), built in 1967;
22. Carbunesti-Albeni-Seciuri (23 km), built in 1983;
23. Babeni-Berbesti-Alunu (44 km), built in1988.
Due to the exploitation of coals ores, 23 railways were built in Romania, which were called “ the coal’s railways”, with a length of 825 km, representing 7.4% of the total national railway network.
The total length of the narrow and industrial railways, private ad of state, which all this time served the transportation of coals, have not been taken into account yet.
Out of the 23 coal’s railways, 14 were built by CFR Administration and foreign companies, which served the interests of Austria and Hungary, with respect to coal exploitation activity, built those other nine railway routes.

Reporting, Radu Bellu