ISPCF
55 Years of Service for the Romanian Railways
55 years
With more than half of century ago, on November 1947, through the Order no.
3/2628 of the General Department of CFR has been founded the Design Institute
for the Railways, which has taken over from the former specialized units of
CFR the task to draw up the studies and the projects for all the railway works
of a technical importance.
There has been started off with a number of 478 employees, more than a half
being engineers and architects that were coming from the teams in charge with
the design and the execution within the existing services of CFR. They were
taking advantage for a long time of the contribution of the very valuable
specialists from the body of engineers of the Polytechnic School Bucharest.
In a first stage, the activity has been centered on the achievement of the
studies and projects for the rehabilitation and the restoration of the
railways that have suffered sever damages during the Second World War. Then
there have been performed development and modernization works for the railway
network, meaning: the building of new lines, the doubling of the existing
ones, the consolidation of the works of art and the achievement of new ones,
the electrification, the modernization of the safety traffic equipment etc.
Among the most important works designed by the specialists from ISPCF we can
mention: doubling of the railway sections on Bucharest - Craiova - Filiasi
(1972), Buzau - Faurei - Galati (1974), Bucharest - Fetesti (1971), Adjud -
Roman - Suceava (1975); the building of certain new lines, among which Pascani
- Tg. Neamt (1985) and Dornesti - Siret (1983); the completion of the adjoins
network in the mining areas, as Carbunesti - Albeni, Turceni - Dragotesti,
Strehaia - Motru, Babeni - Berbesti - Alunu, Filiasi Tg. Jiu; the achievement
of the industrial lines for the Combinate Hunedoara, Galati, Clarasi, Navodari
etc. We also have to remind about the doubling of Fetesti - Cernavoda railway
section, the restoring of damaged railway section due to the building of the
Danube- Black Sea Channel or the building of the bridges over the Danube,
great achievements which studies and projects have been also elaborated by the
specialists within ISPCF.
15 years
ISPCF has celebrated 15 years since the
inauguration of the new bridges over the Danube during the current fall. Even
is that was performed in stages, the putting into operation of the two great
objectives - the bridge over Borcea (on October 1984) and the Bridge in
Cernavoda (on July 1987) - there has been solved a great issue - the Danube
crossing. Since then, this can be performed simultaneously on two railway
lines, which bear two convoys of 10 tones/m load.
Designed and executed by our specialists, with materials, equipment and inland
technologies, the bridges have represented a wreathing of the great
achievements of the Romanian technologies started a century ago by the
engineer Anghel Saligny.
Mr. Dragos Teodorescu, the deputy director of ISPCF, has led the team of
specialists who have elaborated the projects of the two remarkable works. He
has also declared: " I am sure that for each passenger that crosses the
Danube on the railway, the new bridges over the Danube represent a very
special work. Let's not forget that these works of art are included among the
most remarkable achievements on international plan in the field of combined
bridges. 
As for me, the two objectives represent a
continuation of the tradition of the Romanian constructors of bridges, who
have provided the appropriate development of the railway network and roads in
our country since the creation of the unitary Romanian state. Another
important fact that should not be forgotten is represented by the fact that
the achievement of the new bridges over the Danube has included several
constructive and technological premieres, as we can mention: the use of the
superior steel OL.52 selected from the current production, the assembling of
the welded bars structure from thick boards of 50 mm or the assembling in the
console of the tabliere without ceasing the navigation on the Danube. The most
important fact for us, the ones that have spent our youth there, it is the
fact that the new bridges over the Danube have entered in the great family of
the works of art from the metallic structures type which sustain two railway
lines and four road lanes, with maximal opening of 190 m, being also included
on the list of the biggest bridges in Europe."
Today, ISPCF has been involved with all its forces in the elaboration of the
feasibility studies for the rehabilitation and the modernization of the
railway sections, which are part of the pan-European corridors.
Another important and urgent program which ISPCF is involved in is the
modernization of the railway stations, among which a priority place is taken
by the new project of the Bucharest Nord Railway Station, because the old
railway station is no longer meeting the requirements of the current traffic,
and, it seems that neither the future ones. The new objective will be built at
the level of the great modern railway stations in Europe and will be endowed
in order to get all types of trains from the internal and international
traffic: high speed trains, intecity trains, eurocity trains, local trains
etc.
The specialist within ISPCF also collaborate with their guild colleagues from
IPTANA and with a team of Bulgarian designers for the finalization of the
railway and road adjoins to the future mixed bridge, on railways and road,
over the Danube, located at Calafat - Vidin. In the same time, the specialists
from ISPCF are involved in the achievement of other chapters from CFR strategy
regarding the modernization of the electrical and centralization equipment, at
the extension of the fiber optics network and, not at last in the elaboration
of the studies, technical projects and the execution details for the current
maintenance of the railways.
In Mr. Cezar Ivana's opinion, the general director of ISPCF, "the
priority objectives for our team are the projects aiming the increase of the
traffic speed, of the comfort and the safety traffic on the railways, as well
as the elaboration of the studies for the future objectives included in the
development strategy of the Romanian Railways for 2000-2010. We are aware that
the integration task in the European network assumed by CFR imposed efforts
from both parties, sustained concerns for the logistics and technical
acceptance preparations for the future high speed routes, which are more and
more closer by our country. Presently, the European network of high-speed
lines has exceeded 3,100 km and it is stipulated to reach in 2010 to almost
6,000 km. The success of the high speed in Europe is obvious - up to the
present time has taken over almost 20% of the passengers traffic - and there
are great chances that in the near future to compete easily with the air
transport, on short and medium distances.
Due to this reason, the future Bucharest Nord Railway Station will be endowed
with at least two lines for the acceptance of the high speed trains. I have to
admit that the design of these routes has become a priority concern, a
veritable challenge for the designers from ISPCF", Mr. Cezar Ivana, the
general director, has assured us.
ISPCF, we wish you as many prestige achievements as possible!
Oana Branzan
