Central Traffic Regulator,
Command Unit of the Railway Traffic

The activity developed on the Romanian railway network is very complex, the two modes of transports, for passengers and freight, representing only a small part of that. The occurrence of the private railway operators, who are already 10 in number, has added new valences to this activity. One of the department of CFR SA working closely with all the railway operators, either private or state owned is the Central Traffic Regulator (RCC).

Central Traffic Regulator (RCC) is a unit belonging to the Traffic department within CFR SA which team, made of 20 employees, coordinates the activity of eight regional regulators and of the 25 of the network - effectively managing the train traffic. The central regulator and the regional ones have, mainly, the role to send the dispositions aiming at train traffic and collecting the data from the territory. This fact is performed by the operator of the track officers, practically aims at train traffic and operatively interfering when there is something happened.
The workers from this sector of activity are track officers as profession and, after a certain time working in various regional regulators, based on a contest and on a strict selection, the best have been selected from the Central Regulator.
They are working in "24 hours shifts": there are established two shifts in 24 hours, in the sector of activity being permanently necessary the presence of an employee in order to receive the information from the territory. Based on them, there is made an analysis of the quantitative indicators (number of operated trains, gross tons transported etc.) and qualitative indicators ( the regularity of the traffic in comparison to the book).
The analyses are performed at certain periods of time, established through dispositions: at every decade of the month (ten days), monthly, at six months and annually. Then there are made comparisons, which are interpreted and, eventually, discussed with the rail regions, in order to know, to diminish and, if there is possible even to eliminate the shortcomings occurred in the complex activity called train traffic.

The modernization process of the railway system is felt in this sector. Therefore, the Central regulator takes advantage of three sections of IT program of the railways called IRIS. Therefore, there has been created IRIS CRONOS, managing the recording of the operative adjustments of the traffic timetable at every level: traffic dispositions - the issuance, survey of the receipt and execution -, the division of the train delays on causes and responsibilities and the receipt of the notices sent from the subordinated level. The second IT program, called IRIS FOCUS, performs the survey in real time of the train traffic for operative decision making for the regularization of the traffic, and the third program, IRIS ATLAS being an extremely useful tool for the adaptation in the daily program and from ten to ten days at each level.
In the last five years, the activity of RCC has changed. Pursuant to the development of the restructuring of the railway system from 1998 have appeared the two national railway operators, CFR Marfa and CFR Calatori, and each of these companies has set up its own survey of the developed activity.
RCC continues to track the effective traffic of all the trains operation on the network, but it is developed only from the infrastructure administrator's point of view, CFR SA. Every morning, there are drawn up statistical data regarding the activity developed a day before (the record of all the trains that have operated on the railway infrastructure in the previous 24 hours), where there are also added the operative situation, being possible to track any train in any moment, its running times etc. the statistical collected data are archived on magnetic support, as well as on paper and can be kept for very long periods of time.

In order to achieve this material we have talked to some employees of the Central Traffic Regulator, reason why we have spent a few hours next to them. All these time, the activity did not cease a second even: on the screen of a computer we could track the operation of certain trains on certain sections of the network, a series of information from the territory were received, there were sent dispositions, operative measure have been taken…
We have discussed with the head of this unit, Mr. Laurentiu Anichitei, whom we have asked, which are most important qualities that an employee of the regulator should own and which is the most important thing that he should know. His answer has promptly came: " first of all, an employee of RCC should be proud of working here and that he is in the top of the pyramid of the train traffic coordination on CFR network. The most important thing, which they always have to be aware of, is the need to permanently improve themselves professionally, because things change almost every day. At the qualities category, I would mention the cold blood, the calm and the responsibility for the decisions."
Trying to find out what part of activities developed by them is the most demanding, more difficult answered me that "Every task has a major importance, all the compartments, each has its own specific, have the same importance."

In order to fulfill the task assigned, RCC closely collaborates with the General Inspectorate for Safety Traffic and Control, but the most they work with the Dispatcher Unit from CFR Calatori, in order to solve the requirements with regard to: the attachment/detachment of the wagons, the putting into operation of certain supplementary trains, lines shutting down when there are demands from the rail regions, for the overhauls.
The same type of collaboration is also developed with CFR Marfa, drawing up the freight train timetables. These ones, aside the passengers ones, operate according to a program daily established, because there are necessary various goods loading, in certain points of the network, there are recorded accumulation of wagon loaded with goods that should be discharged etc. On each main section linking a rail region to another are established a few border points, in stations and halts, the trains being surveyed between the borders of each rail region.
In fact, as they said at a certain moment the chief of the shift: "There are …only 1,700 passengers trains which should be ordered in 24 hours. And we add new ones, almost the same number of freight trains, the trains reaching the destination due to our exemplar co-working with the employees from RCC and their collaborators."
Mr. Anichitei has also informed us that the "Daily program of traffic starts at 5:00 p.m. and ends after 24 hours. Therefore, starting with 5:00 p.m. starts the centralization work of the data at the level of each rail region - for the regularization, at the quantitative indicators etc. -, and starting with 10:00 p.m. are sent the data from territory, which are after that centralized, ordered, arranged, checked, so that in the morning they are already ready."

The structure of the department
The chief of shift has the obligation that every hour informs his superiors on the events that could occur on the network; he makes out to whom he reports the information that he receives, how soon he has to send it and, in emergency cases, what operative measures should be taken in order to straighten the traffic. Absolutely all the data related to the state of the railways, of the weather and railway events are sent to RCC; the first who receives them is the chief of shift.
Within the Central Traffic Regulator operate the following compartments:
· the coordination and the tracking of the freight trains traffic and the network dispatcher;
· the timetable of the freight trains traffic on the network;
· the special transports, overall dimension, heavy transports with exceeded axle load and so on;
· the coordination and the tracking of the passengers trains traffic on the network;
· he analysis of the passengers trains traffic on the network.
Mr. Anichitei told us that: "The dispatcher for passengers is, practically, the brain of putting into operation of all passengers trains on the CFR network. They are working quite a lot on the computer, the orders placed from the rail regions, from CCFR Calatori the shutting down demands, supplementary wagons etc. any train has its own composition, well-established and when there is introduced or removed a wagon there should be noticed the personnel from territory. There is drawn up a telegram addressed to all interested factors. There is a close and responsible collaboration between the three sectors: the freight sector, passengers and private railway operators. There is necessary a very good coordination, because the railway network is only one, and the demands are quite many.

The occurrence of the private capital operators
According to the legal regulations in force, RCC grants non-discriminatorily the access on the infrastructure of the Romanian Railways to all railway operators, no mater if they have a state capital (CFR Marfa), CFR Calatori) or a majority private capital, and aims at its fulfillment.
We wanted to find out how is developed the collaboration with the private operators, who are a relatively new appearance in the field, and Mr. Anichitei had the amiability to tell us as it follows: "It is difficult from the point of view of sending the information; at CFR Marfa, the program is interactive (there is also discussed in the same time with the rail regions and with the dispatcher from CFR Marfa), while with the private freight transport operators we are working by facsimile, there are received the approvals for operation for any point from the demand and for each operators, still by facsimile, after which there is sent in territory the disposition necessary to put into operation the respective trains. It is a more difficult modality of working, but this is only the beginning. Step by step, we are advancing, we are permanently concerned in respecting the rules imposed by the European Union."
At the repartition of the railway infrastructure capacities to the private operators, CFR SA, as an administration body of the railway infrastructure from the public and private property of the Romanian state, will take care that this access will be performed according to an access contract. In this respect there should be taken into account the followings:
· the repartition of the railway infrastructure capacity to be performed equitably and non-discriminatorily;
· the repartition procedure to allow an efficient and optimal use of the infrastructure capacity.
At the repartition of the routes there still are certain priorities: therefore, the public passengers railway transport services will have priority, as well as those performed, totally or partially, on an infrastructure specially built or arranged for these services; respectively, the special high speed lines or those specialized for freight transport.
The routes are usually allocated on a non-determined period of time, according to the specific regulations in force, with regard to the drawing up of the traffic graph. There can be also allocated routes on determined periods of time, in the following conditions: if it is demanded in the repartition demand, if the optimal use of the network imposes this solution or if the development of the new infrastructures, the liabilities taken over of other arrangements of the Ministry of Transports or of the infrastructure administrator with regard to the creation of new services implies a limited duration of route repartition.
Still within the central Traffic Regulator there is operatively supervised the unfolding of the traffic at the Romanian state borders and there are taken measures according to the competencies, to which there are added the performance of certain analyses and the granting of the access on the CFR lines of the supplementary foreign passengers coaches in comparison to the protocol composition of the international trains.

As a conclusion, after many hours spent among the traffic operators from CFR SA, I could say that I understood the statement of Mr. Anichitei from the beginning of our discussion with regard to the pride feeling that should be felt by the RCC employee: he could be proud because it is up to him the faith of any train operating on CFR network. Yes, indeed, we are talking about pride here, and also about a great responsibility!

Silvia Mirea