Bucharest - Campina Railway Section,
on…Passengers' Taste

The rehabilitation and modernization program of Bucharest - Campina railway section, started off by the National Romanian Railway Company "CFR" SA in 2001, represents for the railway men the materialization of a very important objective of the European integration strategy - the provision of the interoperability of the iron way from Romania with the continental railway network.

The pan-European corridors for railway transport takes an important place in the international commerce, reason why in this sector is manifested a permanent concern for gaining new sale markets. It is known the fact that, Romania represents an intersection area of the international main sections for railway transport. In order to capitalize as much as possible this advantage, CFR aims at intensifying the concerns with respect to the improvement of the railway infrastructure, in order to increase the quality of the passengers and freight transport by transiting to the high speed operation, which is presently extended from the Western Europe to the Eastern and South-Eastern of the continent.
Of a special interest for the many European countries proves to be the pan-European Corridor IV, which also crosses the Romanian territory - starts from Curtici, crosses through Arad, Sighisoara, Brasov and Bucharest and reaches to Constanta. That is why, following the example of other countries, in the last two years Romania has become more and more active on external plan, involving itself in the building and the operation of the international cooperation framework between the states situated along the Corridor IV and succeeding to attract important international financing for the modernization of this railway section.
The decision of the National Romanian Railway Company "CFR" SA to start the rehabilitation action at the infrastructure of the Corridor IV with Bucharest - Campina railway section was based on the results of certain technical-economical studies and analyses. On this section, the big volume of works and their values make necessary the echeloning in time of their financing and their execution. Given the necessity to demonstrate the economical efficiency of the investment of certain important amounts in the rehabilitation works, compared with other railway sections of the corridor, the fact that the respective railway section has the highest traffic values from the entire corridor offer to it the most advantageous conditions. Fact that implies, in order to maintain the traffic in the satisfactory parameters of safety and comfort, an additional financial effort.
Because the inappropriate technical conditions of the existing railway lines, determined by the precarious state of the constructions and of the railway equipment, imposed operation speed restrictions on certain sectors, have imperiously become necessary for starting off the rehabilitation and modernization program of the infrastructure in order to provide the passengers trains operation with maximal speeds of 169 km/h and the freight trains with 120 km/h.

The technical features of Bucharest - Campina railway section
From the technical points of view or from the exploitation conditions point of view, this route, in a length of 91,795 km, can be divided in two distinct railway sections: Bucharest Nord - PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification (56,035 km) and PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification (35,786 km).
The railway section Bucahrest Nord - PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification, located in Campia Vlasiei, is oriented from south to north and it is intersected by three important water courses: Colentina, Ialomita and Prahova rivers. All sectioned points (six as number) and the ramifications (two as number) in the current lines are endowed with CED equipment, along them existing five halts: Carpati, Bucharest Marshaling Yard, Bucharest Marshaling Yard Depot, Darza and Scrovistea.
The routes have long sections of alignment and curves with ranges generally larger than 1,488 m; the minimal range of the route is of 859 m, in the area of km 47+500. An important thing to be mentioned is the fact that the level difference between Bucharest (82.7 m quotation) and Ploiesti (148.5 m quotation) is of 65.8 m, the slopes and the ramps of the line being determined only the necessity of a well operation of train and the provision of crossing the water courses at the superior level of the flooding quotation.
PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification - Campina has a length of 35.786 km and most of it is located in Campia Targovistei, after which enters in the sub-Carpathians region of Prahova river. The route section located in the plain have long alignments, as well as the intervals Ploiesti Vest - Buda and Buda - Floresti Prahova, and the section entering in the hill area presents singular curves or successions of curves with various ranges. The level difference between PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yards Ramification (148.43 m quotation) and the entrance in Campina railway station (400.56 quotation) is of 352.13 m, and the slopes and the ramps of the track being determined by a much longer entering in the field and by reaching a few forced points. The line has three intermediary sectioning points, endowed with CED equipment, as well as a halt - Bobolia.
It is well known the fact that the entire rehabilitation program of this railway section has been divided in eight lots of works, presently being in various stages of development. "There has been done a lot of work, no matter the meteorological conditions, and I believe that we will meet the deadlines established at the inception of the works", thinks Mr. Ion Mihaila, the director of Bucharest Rail Region. He has also told us about the current situation on lots:
Lot 1 - the works on the version route over Prahova river: finalized;
Lot 2 - the culverts executed through the horizontal drilling method: have been finalized 12 of the 15 culverts. The constructing company has demanded the reception of nine culverts on Floresti - Campina and Peris - Crivina railway sections. Presently, there are executed works at the drilled culverts from km 10+126, km 34 +096 and km 34+784;
Lot 3 - the works at the railway infrastructure and superstructure: currently, there are ready Bucharest Nord - Chitila railway section, line I +II; Buciumeni - Peris, Line I and II; Peris - Crivina, line I; Crivina - Brazi, lines I+II; Brazi - Ploiesti Vest, line III. For the time being Chitila - Buciumeni railway section is in development stage, the version Crivina - Brazi (between km 43 + 600 - 47 + 639), and the lines 3 - 5 from Ploiesti Vest Railway Station. We should also mention in this case that, once with the finalization of the works on each railway section, the technical commissions proceed to the checking up of the quality and the technical parameters imposed through the technical specifications in order to take over and to perform the reception of the works. Up to this date, there have been received Bucharest Nord - Chitila and Buftea - Peris railway sections, and also other two railway station intervals are going to be received quite soon;
Lot 4 includes works at the bridges and the culverts. There are still to be executed the finishing works at the bridge over Ialomita river from km 89 + 060, line II, as well as at the bridge from km 89 + 140, line II;
Lot 5 - civil works in the railway stations; there are executed in a 505 proportion, presently being in working stage the platforms from Chitila, Peris, Scrovistea, Crivina, Prahova, Ploiesti Vest and Floresti Prahova railway stations;
Lot 6 - the contact line and the protection works: finalized in 95% proportion. There are in full development stage presently the ones from the areas where there are built new versions, respectively Chitila - Buciumeni, Crivina - Brazi and Ploiesti Vest railway station;
Lot 7 - the modernization works at CED, BLA and TTR equipment, executed by IMSAT SA Bucharest, are achieved in 70% proportion;
Lot 8 - works for power-supply contact line. There are in execution stage the modifications from Chitila substation, as well as the building of a new substation Ploiesti Vest.
The rehabilitation of the pan-European Corridor VI, which, according to the declarations of the rail region director, is close to be finalized, will lead, alike, to an increase of the technical speed of the trains and to a reduction of the travel duration between Curtici and Constanta. On the other hand, in the near future, on this corridor there are going to be developed the railway component of the combined transport, a modern type of transport that is more and more imposing in the international traffic.
Due to the rehabilitation works, the maximal operation speeds of the passengers' trains on Bucharest Nord - PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification - Campina will be:
- 140 km/h between Bucharest Nord and Chitila;
- 160km /h on Chitila - Brazi railway sections;
- 120 km/h between Brazi and PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification;
- 90 km/h between PM Ploiesti Marshaling Yard Ramification and Ploiesti Vest;
- 16- km/h Ploiesti Vest - Floresti Prahova;
- 110 km/h Floresti Prahova - Campina. It is important the fact that the technical solutions have been chosen so that, once they are materialized, they should be appropriate with the modernized version of the railway line, therefore avoiding the necessity to perform in the future other works on the same railway sections. The solutions consisted in local rectification of the curves in route plan, the achievement of a route version of a small length, the rectification of lever, the rehabilitation of the embankment in the area of the track platform, at widths between 0.5 m and 1.2 m, the replacement of the existing structure with track and track equipment of UIC 60 type, the use of the elastic fastening on the current and direct lines from the railway stations, the restoring of the bridges infrastructure, the replacement of the metallic superstructures of the bridges with concrete and reinforced concrete ones, which allow the achievement of the track in a ballast vat, the introduction of the signaling with different speed stages, the achievement of a completely compensated catenary and the replacement of the current pillars sustaining the contact line with metallic pillars, the rehabilitation of the primary and secondary circuits at the hauling substations, line systematization in the stations, by renouncing to the suspenders and double junctions, replacing them with double diagonals in the ending stations, and the creation of spaces between the lines in order to place wide platforms and pedestrians' tunnels.
There is also taken into consideration, on certain line sections, the provision of certain technical parameters in order to allow the increase of the current operation speeds of the trains to values up to 110 km/h, 120 km/h and 140 km/h. On the railway sections which, due to the location or to the constructions and equipment placed right next to it, there is not possible the modification of the geometry in order to increase the current operation speeds with minimal investment efforts, there will be performed only rehabilitation works in order to bring them to the initially designed operation speeds. These works aim the track infrastructure and also the superstructure (embankment, consolidations, protections, bridges, culverts), as well as fixed equipment of electrical hauling and signaling.
Finally, from the 91.7 km as Bucharest Nord - Campina railway section, on a 60.6 km length, (namely 66% of the entire route) there will be possible an operation with the maximal speed of 160 km/h. On the other hand, through the rehabilitation of the line, the operation comfort and safety will be increased, and the quality of the services provided to the passengers will be significantly improved, while the freight transport will regain the lost market in the international traffic. Also, on internal traffic, on more than 200 km distances the railway transport on the pan - European Corridor IV will become competitive with the road sector.

Oana Branzan