Romanian Railway Authority

New Management, New Image

Restructuring and reorganization process in the Romanian Railway - started almost three years ago - aims the modernization of Romanian railway system, as well as its integration in the community system, by creating similar structures as the west-European ones having the purpose to create a genuine railway market.
Europe is also in the middle of the constitutional and developing process of the organizational basis of the European Union, fact that implies serious mutations in the railway system. Presently, Romanian Railway role is to continue its own restructuring process, following and approving, in the same time, European regulations in the field.
In this process, a special role must be assigned to the competent institutions on charge with regulation process, authorization, control, study and research in the railway field.

AFER image and role on national and international level

Current image of AFER that is projected in the Romanian railway system is not the one that is deserved and that the personnel of this institution would like to project. This situation is due to a miscommunication between AFER and the economical agents involved in the process. That's why a more direct working modality is required, including: periodical meetings with economical agents for discussing common situations, consulting meetings in order to elaborate some normative documents, strengthening direct relationships between AFER management and the management of the economical agents, and so on.
In this moment, Romanian Railway Authority role is established by the internal existing regulations, but, still, these ones must be adapted to the European regulations in force, some of them still being in the elaboration and adoption phase. In this respect, presently, there are made efforts to maintain the relationship with the similar organisms, still not so numerous, from European countries that started the restructuring process of railway transport before our country. It is obvious that AFER role will become more and more important, in accordance with the evolution of the railway system on the European level.
Development of the Romanian infrastructures, especially in transport system, represents one of the basic concerns of the current government, being, in the same time, an alignment condition to the standards established for the European integration of our country. In this respect, the new management of AFER proposed as main goal railway research innovation and enlarging its operational area, taking into consideration the fact that this activity was neglected in the past years, even if the Romanian Railway needed it so much. The creation of an organizational structure that will provide the launching of the activity of rail study and research will be a start in taking measures in this respect.
Some existing structures will also be reorganized, so that the potential suppliers to understand easier all the requirements regarding the use of their products and/or service for the railway and subway transport field, and the fact that they must respect the regulation of European Union.
Main elements of the AFER activity domain will not change in a near future, but many of them will be stressed of will suffer changes in order to be in accordance with the needs of development of railway transport system.

Still in this respect the chart will suffer essential changes.

Among the last concerns of AFER there is also the precarious situation in which the testing track from Faurei is. This goal, even if the activity is unfolded continuously, it is depreciating from year to year even more, reducing its initial performance, mainly because of a lack of financial resources. Keeping it in operation on a proper level is a goal of AFER and presently they are looking for means which will mobilize the entire Romanian railway system in order to improve the performance of the testing track, even taking into consideration the actual difficult budgetary conditions. AFER appeals to all the economical agents from the rail field to participate in this action, planning to organize even a meeting with the main economical agents involved in the process.
Study and research activity has been diminished dramatically although the rail system needs such works, that every economical agent tries to accomplish by its own means. The activity of AFER in point of quality and quantity has to be recovered. Presently, through the recent created research direction, AFER offer regarding the study and research activity has been sent to the economical agents resulted from the restructuring process of SNCFR.
Another goal that was proposed represents the development of AFER competence in the field of studies and assessments regarding the impact of the rail transport activity to the environment.
Railway Register is, in AFER , made of the departments that are in charge with the technical admittance of the products and/or service that serve for building, modernizing, maintaining and repairing the rolling stock for the rail and subway transport, in accordance with the European Union regulations. Thus, Railway Register contributes to the creation of a new unique market of rail products and to the mutual recognition of the conformity assessment of these products.
Another important activity of the Register is the assessment of the rail operators in order to grant the licenses and the safety certificates.
The desire of European countries to develop the railway freight transport as a mean to protect the environment and the liberalization of this type of transport has influenced in a positive way the situation in Romania. The Rail Register licensed four Romanian freight transport railway operators after their assessment.
Developing such activities, Romania participates at the accomplishment of the goal established by the European Union to create a trans -European railway network and to enhance interoperability, especially by harmonization of the technical norms.
Cooperation between AFER and CFR -SA and other economical units is based on the relationships among their high level management, who is able to accelerate or diminish this collaboration. Till now, this collaboration didn’t succeed to reach the high level requirements and possibilities of all the economical entities involved in the process.
AFER management, in its opening and transparency policy will try to change fundamentally this situation, for the benefit of the railway system in our country.

Eng. Gheorghe Gradeanu