"Romanian engineers are good specialists"

Interview with Francoise Heidebroek Project Manager and representative of Belgian Company Transurb Consult

Railway Journal: What is the specific of the Transurb Consult enterprise?
Francoises Heidebroek: Transurb Consult is a branch of the Belgium Railways for 25 years, functioning in 50 states of the world. We came to Romania 10 years ago, the railway and urban transportation are our two characteristics.
RJ: Why are you in Romania?
FH: Between 1992-1994 our country received some funds from the World Bank for a project for the modernisation of urban transport. For its realisation we collaborated with RATB and METROREX. It is on that occasion that we contacted railway transportation specialists.
RJ: The collaboration with the Railway started…
FH: …in 1996. SNCFR, as it was called back then, started a large project for rehabilitating railways, financed by PHARE and BERD. This was the first step in the collaboration with the Romanian Railways. At the same time myself and a colleague of mine were hired for long term. As it was a very important project we were glad to be able to help our colleagues, the Romanian railwaymen and that we will be working together. I must also mention that we have a team of specialist expert engineers that come here periodically to help CFR specialists.
RJ: Is this collaboration limited only to CFR SA?
FH: No. Indeed we are working mainly with CFR SA (around 80%) but we also work with CFR Freight and CFR Passengers.
Regarding CFR Freight I can mention the modernisation programme for freight wagons, a very important contract for RomVag. The collaboration with CFR Passengers was pointed at modernising Electroputere Craiova locomotives and another modernisation programme for passenger wagons is under way. We also provide assistance for fibre optics equipment and for the Interlooking system modernisation.
RJ: Am I to understand that you are the connection for the most important projects of the Romanian Railway?
FH: As a matter of fact Transurb Counsult provides technical assistance for the good development of co-financed projects. There are 45 individual agreement projects and 43 of them are already running. For the other two, we hope that by the end of the year contracts will be signed in order to get them started.
RJ: Exactly what is your position?
FH: Our position in any modernisation project, externally financed is to help with the task books and to provide technical assistance especially for the commercial and administrative parts. We have the obligation to send every three months an activity report concerning everything that went on during that time to the following institutions: the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, PHARE and to the Romanian authorities. Of course, this report is drawn together with our colleagues at CFR.
RJ: What do you believe about the collaboration with the CFR specialists?
FH: It was an extraordinary experience even though every beginning is perhaps a bit hard. After you manage to convince them that you are there to help and not to monitor, everything just falls into place. Romanian railwaymen understood that really fast, a fact that led to a good understanding, even from the beginning. The work in common drew us together. The positive experience that we accumulated all these years convinced me that I am working with smart, receptive people, fact that determined me to move further. One thing that testifies to the good collaboration between the two parties is that Transurb Consult also signed a contract for the supervision of works to be made on the Bucharest- Brasov section.
RJ: Aside from providing technical assistance do you have an additional program?
FH: We set up a local branch that already has seventeen employees - not sufficient though for the activity they must sustain, counting the fact that this branch is also a sub-contractor for the supervision works on the Bucharest -Brasov section. That is why we thought that hiring young Romanian engineers that we will teach with the help of a special programme would be a good solution. Courses will take place at MPLAT and we will take care of the fees. After the end of these formative courses they will also receive the form master degree.
RJ: why are you looking for young people instead of already formed experienced men?
FH: In Romania, since the Revolution and until '96, no funds were allocated to sustain large projects like the rehabilitation of a railway line so we cannot really speak of experienced men in this field. Such projects offer the possibility to gain experience. We wish that now, when most financing are external, to make known to Romanian railwaymen new international procedures that could be used in the large modernisation programmes.
I was telling you at the beginning of this discussion that our activity includes several states worldwide. We are closing many contracts but we lack specialists because Belgian railways passed through a strict restructuring programme and we have no Belgian engineers available. Because Romanian engineers are good technicians we believed this offer an opportunity and the collaboration would be beneficial both for them and for us.
RJ: To close, can you tell us why you chose our country?
FH: I came to Romania as a tourist ten years ago and I liked the country very much; especially the Apuseni Mountains area where I even bought a small cottage. I believe it to be my Romanian residence. After so many years in this country I can say that I feel a bit Romanian myself. It is a beautiful country, with smart and welcoming people that made me feel good here and I made lots of friends. Although the distance between Romania and Belgium, I prefer to spend more time here. It is good to be in Romania.
RJ: I am thanking you and I wish you good luck.
FH: I am also thanking you.

Reporting Oana Bran.