Reorganization of the SNTFC is now closer to reality than ever

Interview with Mr. Gavrila Manila, General Manger of the Zonal Railway Public Transportation Bucharest Department

 

Railway Journal: Mr. Manager, what means for you and for the institution you are running this reorganization of the National Public Railway Company (SNTFC)?
Gavrila Manila: For us, people from the zonal department, this reorganization means a closer look to the reality of costs for public transportation. This is the first and the most important achievement of us, because, the moment we get to know the costs, we will become aware of what has to be done.
Public Railway Transportation Zonal Department operates on 186 trains, among which there are also several inter-regional trains that circulate on two or three zonal department sectors, as for example: Bucuresti- Teius, Bucuresti - Ciceu, Bucuresti - Calarasi, Bucuresti - Fetesti, Bucuresti - Slobozia, and many others.
RJ: So, you administrate yourselves the budget you have….
GM: Yes, the Government has approved our own budget, and at the extent as we will be able to do it, we try to administrate it. Being an austere budget, if I may call it so, each amount has to be thoroughly analyzed before it gets to be spent.
RJ: Do you think it profitable, this solution that each company should administrate by its own the budget?
GM: Before that, we were simple administrators of directives that we received from our chiefs. Now, we know exactly our budgetary possibilities and we were granted totally decision power as related to it. So, depending on the gravity of the issues, we are able to know what are the priority sectors, in order to settle down all the main problems. Of course, we maintain our collaboration with both the National Railway Public Transportation Company and the others, such as: National Railway Company CFR-SA, National Railway Freight Transportation Company, and Railway Management Company.
Even if many people hardly collaborate with the others companies, it is not our case, at all. We do not have to forget that one thing is sure: railways are a system that has to be working permanently in normality, and if one element that concurs to the normality of the systems does not cooperate, nobody but the public has to suffer.
RJ: It’s been almost a year since SNTFC was restructured. What actions have you completed and in what conditions they are now?
GM: Although we had less time in our advantage, we were able to repair a bigger number of wagons in comparison with year 1999. It is for us a real performance. If we succeeded to surpass the norm as for the wagons, for the locomotives, things are no so good because of the budget. We don’t have the necessary money to finish our repairing plan.
We also started a new modality of modernization of the individual multi-floor wagon series 2626, which we hope to present to the authorities, in order to obtain the necessary funds, by the end of January 15, 2001. This prototype is made in collaboration with Remar Pascani. If we obtain these funds, we will be able to modernize an average of 30 such wagons per year.
For our employees from the railway stations Basarab and Basarab Revison, we arranged baths and proper cabins and a thermal plant. All the bedrooms from stations Targoviste, Maneciu and Slanic- got through an ample program of rearrangements and cleaning up. It is true though that these employees sleep now in better condition.
I cannot remind you of the SELL system, which was introduced in Bucharest Basarab and Ploiesti Vest. By the end of the year, the system will be used in CF Ploiesti-Sud either. So the two railway knots with a very big affluence of traffic are insured by this new system, which will be also introduced in Bucuresti Obor for the next year.
RJ: Among the projects already in the process what other objectives do you have to complete by the end of this year?
GM: I have to deal with the problem of the offices from Basarab Locomotives Commission. We disaffected the thermal plant that has been out of use since 1985, and we created offices in this building. We split the Basarab exploitation department from the Travelers Depot Bucharest to provide an opportunity for the exploitation personnel and the administration to work in the same space. We hope to set up at least eight more offices in the building. At the Basarab Locomotive Comission we also set up a medical facility to improve the rate of check-ups and to let everyone know that the locomotive operators are verified each time they set on a cruise.
RJ: What is the current status regarding winter preparations?
GM: We have been ready since October. We hope that the 2000 - 2001 winter will raise no issues regarding heating. All train heaters were repaired and mended at the repairing plants. The rest of the wagons were also thoroughly checked. We are still fighting malevolence on behalf of certain elements that break windows or steal them entirely, frame included. Any aluminum item in the wagons is tempting for such people; night trains are a favored target on routes like Bucharetst - Titu - Targoviste or Targoviste - Ploiesti.
RJ: Can the Transportation Police do nothing about the thefts?
GM: Our collaboration with the IPT (Transportation Police Division) is not in the least frightful to them. The problem is that the police are not sufficiently manned to deal effectively with such large number of cases. We have their full support. We get as many as 60 policemen at a time to check a train. We do this almost weekly. Any solicitation we address the Transportation Police they resolve as best they can.
RJ: What are your plans for the future?
GM: We already set up a budget report for 2001. What frightens us is the large number of wagons and locomotives due for capital repairs. We hope we will get more funding from our activities and that we will receive a bigger support from the state because the passengers’ transport targets a population well within its rights to receive such funding. We have people who commute everyday. That is why we have to provide more than what we currently do.
We also wish to modernize multi-floor wagons to introduce tourist trains on Valea Prahovei on an every day schedule.

Reporting Oana Bran