Pitesti Railway Station

A New Project Approaches a Bee Line

The Railway Design Agency Craiova is one of the eight subsidiaries of SC Proiect CF Bucharest, the company that we have mentioned about in our magazine and which, once "enlisted" in the railway company on design field, has proposed to contribute to the transposition in life of the most important program delineating the future image of the Romanian Railways.

This year, the Railway Design Agency Craiova has completed its work agenda with works for drawing certain projects for the modernization and the sanitation of the railway station building, for the rehabilitation and the track sub-crossing located on Craiova Rail Region. The modernization and sanitation programs means the rehabilitation of the railway station finishing works or of the adjacent buildings serving the activity developed at the Railways. All these projects will be materialized through overhaul works at the roofs and facades, paintings and, by all means, the division by using rigips walls, there where, pursuant to certain structural modifications, is implied the redistribution of the functional spaces.
Presently, the specialists from Railway Design Agency Craiova, besides drawing up the sanitation projects of several railway stations - Strehaia, Caracal, Rm. Valcea or Slatina -, they still have to handle the achievement of a project for a private company. This fact demonstrates that the skills of the railway designers are quite demanded, well-known and appreciated.

At Pitesti, another future eurostation
One of the great projects achieved by the specialists of the agency - namely, the architect, Danut Cizmaru and the engineers Stefan Florescu (structure part), Mihaela Dinulescu (sanitary equipment), Constantin Povara (electrical equipment), Dumitru Coman (tracks), Liliana Panoiu (Hydrology) - is represented by the modernization of the building of Pitesti Railway Station, work that Mr. Stefan Florescu, the chief of Craiova Railway Design Agency, has told us about.
"The designing works of the complex, which has three buildings: the building of the railway station, the RCM building and the building called Bedroom - have started the last year, on April. In order to confer functionality to Pitesti Railway Station we thought that there is necessary the redistribution of the inside space and the rehabilitation of the platforms.
Although it is a very old building - it has been built in 1872 -, the railway station will not be demolished, but the consolidation works are more complex, because more than 130 years ago the constructions were not achieved according to the rules that are in force nowadays (for example, the protection against earthquakes). Moreover, after the expertise performed we have discovered that the skeleton of the structure is quite frail and thus we reached the conclusion that the building should be seriously consolidated, especially that there should be respected the current regulations. At the railway station building, the project has included certain changes, namely: at the ground floor there have been arranged sanitary groups with showers for the personnel from the tickets counters, a protocol hall, with modern finishing, and a room meant for the mother and the baby, which also has a cabinet particulier, which is used as kitchen. There should be also mentioned, at the ground floor, there will also operate a drugs store and a café-bar. Each office will also have finishing achieved according to the activity unfolded there, and the waiting room will be painted, will be plated with sand stone on the floor, and the paneling, which will be also plated with sand stone, will certainly confer a modern look.
At the first floor, which will be meant only for the personnel of the railway station, there have been arranged, besides offices and sanitary groups a pantry and a special room, endowed with its own sanitary group, for the inspectors. Certainly, according to the activity that will be unfolded, the rooms will be differently finished. For example, in certain spaces, on the floor will be assembled moquette, others will have laminated parquet, and the hall will be plated with sand stone.
What has to be underlined is the fact that at the basement of the building will be assembled a thermal station. Pursuant to the modernization, the thermal station for the RCM building will be assembled in a space outside the building, in a so-called English yard, because it does not infringe the norms in force, according to which there should be created a certain "explosion space". On other hand, at the RCM building there will be performed only consolidation and finishing works.
Because the rooms from the basement were not functional, being quite deteriorated, up to now the third building - Bedroom building - was not used. We thought that the personnel can use this space, so besides the thermal station and that English yard for the "explosion surface", we have designed other functional space for the Tracks units.
At the ground floor and at the first floor there will be rooms meant for offices, which will be just painted and, probably, will have some small finishing.
At the second floor, there will be arranged spaces for rest for the travelling personnel - one room apartments and a duplex, each endowed with its own sanitary group. Because these spaces will operate in hotel regime, there will be assembled moquettes on the floor, the walls will be painted with washable paint, and the halls will be plated with sand stone."
Mr. Stefan Florescu informed us that the outside finishing to all three buildings is achieved on the main principle - a geometric game, a combination of sand stone, plaster and termopan windows. And, of course, all of them will be endowed with electrical, heating and afferent sanitary equipment. Even if the designing part is currently finalized, the specialists of the agency will be present at the consolidation works, where, as Mr. Florescu was saying, will appear, by all means, the inevitable problems of structural order. Certain cracks are visible, but in the moment of total uncovering there can occur "surprises" - hidden cracks, lack or wear of certain structural elements etc. -, which should be remedied during the works.
"At the passengers building we will also adjust a little bit the foundation, because, when they will start digging, there will certainly be discovered elements that we have omitted when we made the expertise.
Another problem that also needs to be urgently solved represent the replacement of the plates of the buildings, which, being made of wooden and metal bolts, does not provide sufficient resistance, provoking trepidations in the moment of the arrival or the departure of the trains from the station. By all means that here, in the moment of the uncovering of the floor, there will be "surprises", which should be solved instantly. But all these details will be solved during the unfolding of the works", the chief of the agency, Mr. Stefan Florescu, has also reminded.
Because the design part has been finalized, up to the starting off of the modernization works of the three buildings, where the specialists of the Railway Designing Agency Craiova will work side by side with the constructing companies, they will take care further on of the modernization and sanitation projects in the railway stations of Craiova Rail Region.

Oana Branzan