Interviu cu Gheorghe Gradeanu

Interview with Mr. Gheorghe Gradeanu, the manager of the General Department of Railway Transport

Railway Journal: Please, explain to us in general which are the attributions of the General Department of Railway Transport!

Gheorghe Gradeanu: The General Department of Railway Transport was set up as the result of applying the Mr. Gheorghe GRADEANU provisions from the Government Decision no. 263/1999 in regard to the organizing and operating of the Transport Ministry.

As the Organizing and Operating Regulations stipulates, this department accomplishes the attributions of the Transport Ministry in regard to the strategy of restructuring and development of the railway and urban underground passenger transport, as well as the corresponding regulations.

From these attributions we can mention:

the substantiation and organizing of the Transport Ministry’s politics in the railway field;

the drawing up of the restructuring, development and modernization program of the transport capacities, infrastructure and technologies in the railway transport in correlation with the strategy of the Ministry;

the initiation and certifying of the regulations in compliance with the European provisions regarding the attestation, authorization and granting of licenses to legal persons who perform activities in the field of railway transport;

the harmonization of the by-laws with the international ones in regard to transport on railways, as well as with the practice of operating on railway transport.

R.J.: How is this department structured and what is the hierarchy?

M.N.: The organization structure is the following:

the Department of Regulations and Quality of Services in Railway Transport (DRCS), with two compartments: the regulation service and the quality of services and the compartment of European integration;

the Strategy, Programs and Analysis Service.

R.J.: How many employees has DGTF?

M.N.: Fourteen, all with superior studies, graduates of some faculties with transport profile.

R.J.: Do you consider that the funds allocated for the ensuring of the service quality and the passengers and goods’ safety in traffic are enough?

M.N.: Such funds are never enough to satisfy the demands. In correlation with the programs of the Ministry, priority is granted to the traffic safety and then spaced-out to the achieving of the comfort criteria.

R.J.: Which do you think is the real and objective reason for which a great part of the passenger wagons have a miserable aspect, besides the lack of civilization of many of our citizens?

M.N.: The situation of the passenger wagons is not only due, as correctly you suggest, to the lack of civilization of certain citizens. We have as civilized citizens as civilized we behave to them.

When we have enough money to outfit the park with new passenger wagons or at least with modernized ones, our citizens will become much more “civilized”. Thus, the aspect of the wagons is first of all due to the high age of the park and to the fact that there are no sufficient resources to repair them on time, according to the instructions in force. The lack of financial resources is also the cause that determines the activity maintenance from the wagon revisions not be at a corresponding level.

R.J.: What programs do you carry out in the present within the Service for Strategy, Programs, Analysis? Please, tell us a few words about them.

M.N.: The main programs in progress are from the field of rehabilitating and modernizing the infrastructure and the rolling material. Among others it is forecast to accomplish 331 works of construction/assembling for capital repairs in 1999. Among these works, 118 are new works, for which are in progress technical projects and tender documentation. They comprise works of capital repairs for lines, bridges, embankments, SCB, IFTE installations, TTR installations and buildings.

The accomplishment of the modernization, respectively the repair of the locomotives and wagons is taken into account for the goods transport within the limits of the funds forecast from the approved budget of expenses and income.

For locomotives is planned a number of 223 repairs works, as follows:

RR – 162 locomotives
RG – 58 locomotives
RK – 13 locomotives

In regard to wagons, the modernization program plans a series of objectives, which are going to be accomplished by financing from own sources or BERD funds. This program aims at implementing into operating new types of wagons, which allow the application of modern transport technologies:

Ro-La train for the transport of TIR trucks;
Gas wagons (70 pieces), by modernizing the wagons Gag 9;
Rils wagons (250 pieces), by changing the Rs wagons, etc.

In the repair program planned for the goods wagons a number of 10,236 is comprised and the costs of such repairs shall be covered from own resources.

R.J.: What projects do you have for the future?

M.N.: The main projects aim at the rehabilitation and modernization of the railway infrastructure, the rolling material, at the level of the regulations and parameters of the European Union.

From the more important objectives, we mention:

The alignment of the national railway transport system to the European one, by:
the mechanization of the maintenance and capital repair works of the rolling road, the modernization of the telecommunication network, the accomplishment of an integrated electronics system, for the railway;
the rehabilitation of the rolling engine material, the rehabilitation of goods and passenger wagons, technical assistance and training.
The rehabilitation and modernization of the infrastructure by:
the modernization of the railway route Curtici-Arad-Alba Iulia-Medias-Brasov-Bucharest-Constanta;
the modernization of the railway route Giurgiu-Videle-Bucharest-Buzau-Pascani-Iasi-Ungheni;
the electrification and modernization of the route Bucharest North – Giurgiu;
the electrification and modernization of the route Timisoara-Stamora Moravita;
the modernization of the route Bucharest-Craiova, etc;
the improvement of the passenger wagons’ aspect by outfitting them with issues that are indispensable to a comfortable trip;
the reconstruction of the 1^st class wagons (538 wagons for the domestic traffic and 50 wagons for the external traffic);
the reconstruction of the 2^nd class wagons (1,557 wagons for the domestic traffic and 100 wagons for the external traffic);
the outfit with electrical heating sources.
The reduction of the specific fuel consume by the reconstruction of 67 electrical Diesel engines of 2100 HP.

We are convinced that by accomplishing the mentioned programs, the conditions for the alignment of the Romanian railway transport to the European parameters are created and ensure an integration under the safety conditions of the traffic and at high comfort standards.

Besides, as a result of reorganizing SNCFR in five economic entities whose activity is developed on the principles of the market economy there were created the conditions of a better organization and management of the railway transport activity and the increase of its efficiency.

Poliana Balaci