Căile Ferate Române is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of 10,777 km (6,697 mi), of which 4,029 km (2,504 mi) (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is 22,247 km (13,824 mi), of which 8,585 km (5,334 mi) (38.5%) are electrified. The CIA World Factbook lists Romania with the 23rd largest railway network in the world. The network is significantly interconnected with other European railway networks, providing pan-European passenger and freight services. CFR as an entity has been operating since 1880, even though the first railway on current Romanian territory was opened in 1854. CFR is divided into four autonomous companies:
The American Locomotive Company was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers and Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York. A subsidiary, American Locomotive Automobile Company, designed and manufactured automobiles under the Alco brand from 1905 to 1913. ALCO also produced nuclear reactors from 1954 to 1962.
Electroputere S.A. is a Romanian company based in Craiova. Founded in 1949, it is one of the largest industrial companies in Romania. Electroputere has produced more than 2,400 diesel locomotives, and 1,050 electric locomotives for the Romanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, and Polish railways, additionally producing other urban vehicles and complex equipment.
The British Rail Class 56 is a type of diesel locomotive designed for heavy freight work. It is a Type 5 locomotive, with a Ruston-Paxman power unit developing 3,250 bhp, and has a Co-Co wheel arrangement. Enthusiasts nicknamed them "Gridirons", due to the grid-like horn cover on the locomotive's cab ends fitted to nos. 56056 onwards. Under its Romanian railway factory nomenclature, the locomotive was named Electroputere LDE 3500, with LDE coming from Locomotivă Diesel-Electrică and the 3500 being the planned horsepower output.
The Indian locomotive class WDM-2 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1962 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Mixed traffic (M) engine, 2nd generation (2). They entered service in 1962. A total of more than 2,700 WDM-2 was built at ALCO and Banaras Locomotive Works, Varanasi between 1962 and 1998, which made them the most numerous class of mainline diesel locomotive until its successor the WDM-3A.
The ALCO DL560C is a series of diesel-electric locomotive with AC electric transmission designed by the American Locomotive Company and produced under license by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) Varanasi, India for Indian Railways as their classes WDM-2, WDM-3A/2C, WDM-3D and WDG-3A for operation in India. The locomotive is fitted with a 16-cylinder ALCO 251 B,C diesel engine. In the early 1960s Indian Railways needed a reliable diesel workhorse to gradually replace its steam locomotive fleet. Equal numbers of ALCO's DL560C and EMD's G16 were chosen for trials. More locomotives of each of these were purchased for more trials. Indian Railways was keen on producing these locomotives in the country rather than depending on imports. EMD did not agree for a Transfer-of-Technology, while ALCO did. Thus ALCO DL560C was chosen for the job due to its easy maintenance, reliability and simple operation. And from then on vast numbers of this loco in different configurations have been produced and remain the main diesel traction power of Indian Railways.
ND2 is the name for a Romanian diesel-electric locomotive, produced by Electroputere, exported to and employed in China by China Railway. It was made for the purpose of heavy transport.
The JŽ class 441 is an electric locomotive built for Yugoslav Railways. The units are now used by Hrvatske željeznice, Željeznice Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, Željeznice Republike Srpske, Serbian Railways and Rail transport of TPP Nikola Tesla, Makedonski Železnici, Turkish State Railways and Romanian Railways-CFR.
Hellenic Train Class 120, also known as Hellas Sprinter, is a class of electric locomotives operated by Hellenic Train. It is part of OSE's rolling stock. They were manufactured by Siemens and Krauss-Maffei in Germany.
The Bosphorus Express, also known as the Trans Balkan Express, is an international passenger train running between Istanbul, Turkey and Bucharest, Romania. It runs together with the Istanbul-Sofia Express as far as Dimitrovgrad upon entering Bulgaria, where the latter continues to Sofia. The train is jointly operated by three national railways: the TCDD Taşımacılık (TCDD), the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), and the Romanian State Railways (CFR). The train serves several important cities including Istanbul, Edirne, Stara Zagora, and Bucharest.
The JŽ series 461 is a six-axle electric locomotive built in Romania for Yugoslav Railways. Today there are known as ŽS series 461 in Serbia, ŽCG series 461 in Montenegro and MŽ series 461 with Macedonian railways.
The Electroputere LE 5100, otherwise known as CFR Class 40/41/42 is a family of electric locomotives built for the Romanian Railways (CFR) for use on the Romanian electrified network. Over 1000 Class 40s were constructed, based on the SJ Rb, by Electroputere (EP) under ASEA license in EPs Craiova Works from 1967 to 1991.
The CFR Class 47 is a class of electric locomotives built for the Romanian Railways for use on the Romanian electrified network. They were originally built by Electroputere from 1965 to 1991 and designated as the CFR class 40 or 41. All Class 47 locomotives were modernized by Softronic from 2007. They are operated both by CFR Marfǎ and CFR Cǎlǎtori.
The Terra Nova locomotive is a diesel-hydraulic locomotive used mainly for heavy shunting operations and light line service. It is produced at Electroputere VFU-Reloc Craiova, Romania and it had its official launching in May 2014, having four axles and the possibility to be adapted to all types of gauges.
The Merișor derailment was a railway accident that took place on 8 April 2017 at Merișor, Bănița, Romania, on the Târgu Jiu to Simeria line, killing both crew members on board.
The CFR Class TEA was a small series of Electric Multiple Units (trains) manufactured in Romania from 1974 to 1986 for Căile Ferate Române. Due to its rarity, not much is known about this trainset, albeit a technical sheet designed for potential export does exist online.
The Indian locomotive class WDG-3A is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1994 by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW),Varanasi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad-gauge (W), Diesel (D), Goods traffic (G) engine, 3,100 hp (3A) locomotive. They entered service on 18 July 1995. A total of 1,164 WDG-3A units were built between 1994 and 2015 at BLW, Varanasi with a few units being produced by Diesel Loco Modernisation Works (DLMW) and Parel Workshop.
OSE class A.551 was a class of diesel locomotives, which were used to be a part of Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE)'s rolling stock. It was built in 1982 by Electroputere in Craiova, Romania, by OSE's order. It was usually coupled with a heating coach, for the train's heating needs. In total, 10 units were produced, numbered A.551 to A.560, which had an Alco 251R/V16 engine, with a 2,911-kilowatt power output, and were capable to reach speeds up to 145 kilometres per hour (90 mph).
CFR Series 040 DH are locomotives produced in large numbers, equipped with a hydrodynamic power transmission. They were used for shunting and light mainline service by the Romanian state railways CFR. In addition, 475 locomotives of this type were delivered to Romanian industrial companies, 263 units were delivered to Bulgaria, 42 units were delivered to industrial companies in Czechoslovakia, three units went to Iraq, two units went to China and one unit was delivered to the USSR.
