The private operator Regio Călători will cease operations on part of section 217 and trains will no longer run on the 27 km between Lovrin and Nereu in Banat. There are currently six trains each way, and they take between 34 and 37 minutes. In response to HotNews.ro, CFR Călători informs that it has NOT entered into a public service contract (CSP) for the operation of passenger trains on the Lovrin – Nereu route.

Line 217 Timisoara Nord – Periam – Lovrin – Nereu has 93 km. At the end of 2021, Regio Călători abandoned the Timisoara Nord – Periam – Lovrin section, and CFR Călători took over the section.

Mersul Trenurilor 2022-23 will have two trains a day from Timisoara to Lovrin and two Timisoara to Periam. Lovrin is located 66 km from Timisoara on route 217.

Lovrin is a commune with 3,000 inhabitants, while Nereu is a village with about 1,000 inhabitants. In the past, the 27 km between Lovrin and Nereu appeared in Mersul Trenurilor as line 219.

Lovrin is a small railway junction, also present on line 218, Timisoara Nord – Lovrin – Cenad, 75 km. Lovrin is located 47 km from Timisoara on route 218.

Banat has a very dense railway network built by the Austrians a century and a half ago, but some sections have been closed in the last 30 years.

HotNews.ro has sent an inquiry to CFR Călători to find out whether the state-owned operator will take over passenger train services on the Lovrin-Nereu route and back. The company says that NO contract has been concluded in this regard.

CFR Călători also says that on these incompatible sections, where passenger traffic is very low, the operating costs are very high in relation to the revenues that can be generated from ticket sales.

Here is CFR Călători’s answer

The public service obligation of CFR Călători is established by the Railway Reform Authority with compensation in accordance with legal provisions to ensure minimum financial efficiency for the operator.

In order to operate on incompatible sections, such as Lovrin – Nereu, which have been refused by private operators, CFR Călători has repeatedly demanded, within the limits and conditions of the law, separate public service contracts, the operation of trains must be carried out in accordance with the transport needs identified and established by the Authority on railway reform with the aim of establishing public service obligations.

As a rule, these non-compatible sections – because they are sections with very low passenger traffic – require a special approach, given the very large difference between possible revenue from ticket sales and operating costs.

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Please note that for the 2022/2023 travel plan, CFR Călători has not entered into a Public Service Contract (CSP) with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure’s Railway Reform Office for the operation of passenger trains on the Lovrin – Nereu route and back. .