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Caile Ferate Romāne is the state railway carrier of Romania. It is the fourth largest railway network in Europe (in terms of volume of passengers and freight), with good connections internationally and to nearly every part of Romania. It was criticized in the early 1990s for poor service, but it has recently improved vastly and now provides services that are comparable to those of Western Europe. CFR has sector branches in the following Romanian cities: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Iai and Braov.1 Train Types
CFR operates seven types of passenger train, both on Romania's territory, with rolling stock and locomotives, or internationally, with rolling stock. Also, CFR operates international trains on Romanian territory with its own locomotives.
CFR train types are:
- Personal (P) and Cursa (C)
- Accelerat (A)
- Rapid (R)
- InterCity (IC)
- EuroCity (EC)
- EuroNight (EN)
- Night trains, which can be of any status
1.1 Personal and Cursa
Personal and Cursa trains are the cheapest trains run by CFR. They usually operate on local routes, calling at every station and halt. No supplement is payable for travel by these trains, and seats are not usually reservable. Cursa trains are to be found on very few routes and, in any case, they are identical to Personal in terms of comfort and status. Personal trains have a reputation for being extremely slow, and, if not crowded, usually display a very rustic feel. The rolling stock used to form Personal trains is often old and spartan. Recently, however, many trains that were formerly of Accelerat status have been downgraded to Personal without a corresponding downgrading of quality. This has meant that there are now in effect two unofficial "classes" of Personal trains: those that travel short distances in rural areas, which remain uncomfortable and slow, and those that travel over medium distances, stopping at nearly every stop, which are more comfortable.
1.2 Accelerat
Accelerat trains are long-distance trains that stop only in towns or cities. They are not particularly comfortable, even though they are a little more expensive than Personal trains. Of all the train types, Accelerat tend to travel the longest distances - there are routes that cross the country: for example, from Oradea to GalatiGalati is a city in eastern Romania, on the banks of the Danube. It has a population of appr. 300,000, making it Romania's 7th largest city. The city has a large iron and steel plant, and the country's largest shipyard. Galati has a university (The Dunare (a huge distance) or from TimisoaraTimişoara ( German Temeswar or Temeschburg Hungarian Temesvar Serbo-Croatian TemiSvar Turkish''Tamisvar is a city in western Romania, in the Banat region, Timiş county, population 329,554 in 2000. All of the variants of its name derive from th to Iasi, stopping at many stations en route. For this reason, Accelerat trains are very popular: even though they are seldom used for express travel between two large cities, they are extremely useful for cross-regional travel between smaller cities.
1.3 Rapid
Rapid trains are the ones most commonly used by Romanians use to travel quickly and comfortably between main cities. Rapid trains do not travel very long distances - usually operating only on main lines and between key Romanian cities. They stop at most towns and all cities on the way. Especially recently, Rapid trains have become comfortable, especially in first class. The majority of Rapid trains have been refurbished to provide an attractive and comfortable travel experience. Rapid trains are of the same standard as other long-distance European trains.
1.4 InterCity
InterCity is Romania's premier train status. It is the most expensive, but also by far the quickest and most comfortable. There are two main types of CFR InterCity: standard and Desiro. Desiro InterCity trains are run by modern diesel multiple units between the principal Romanian cities and stop only in sizeable cities (see CFR Development section for more information). Standard InterCity trains are made up of very comfortable and modern stock and run on routes similar to those of Rapid trains. Before early 2003, there was also a train type known as InterCityExpress ( ICE), but these have been discontinued and transformed into IC, while maintaining the former ICE comfort. All IC trains are air-conditioned, and most provide complimentary newspapers and meals in first class. In terms of comfort, IC trains are of the standard of modern Western European trains.
