Făurei is a small town in dusty Bărăgan, there is no tourist attraction here, but there is an unusual place: the only railway “ring” in Romania, where trains reach 210 km/h. What is happening there? What were the most difficult moments? How much should be invested to increase the speed to 250 km/h?

The speed of a science fiction film in a country where trains accelerate at an average of 45 km/h

In December 1978, the Făurei center was put into operation, known at first under the official name “Railway Test Base”. The investment was initially earmarked for railways in the former CAER (Community Economic Community of Former Communist Countries).

On June 8, 2023, the CFR Călători locomotive reached a maximum speed of 210 km/h, a new speed record set on the Great Ring in Feurea. In May, SRCF Galaţi carried out repairs to the railway superstructure and related contact line installations at Inelul Mare Făurei (13.7 km), the circuit is part of the AFER (Romanian Railway Authority) portfolio.

The Făurei circuit was modernized 15 years ago, now has customers and operates in two shifts, but a new round of investment will be needed to bring it closer to the center in the Czech Republic, the benchmark in the region.

Around the middle of the 80s, that is, about 40 years ago, during the tests conducted by the Bulgarians, there was also an accident. Few details are known, but it seems that two locomotives collided, and there are casualties. Security regulations weren’t as strict as they are today, and the authorities back then weren’t too communicative either.

In 2008, after the modernization of the CFR Călători locomotive, as well as the wagon upgraded to Astra Vagoane Arad, reached a speed of over 200 km/h on the big ring in Făurei.

Why in Făurei and what happened there

The town of Făura has only 3,000 inhabitants, while in 2011 the population was 3,500. Geographically, the town is located at the contact between northern Bareganul and the Buzeului meadow. Făurei gained city status in 1968 and is known as a railway hub (on lines 700 and 702) and is also known as a center for railway tests and experiments.

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Făurei is 168 km from Bucharest by rail. The distance to Buzeul is 40 km, Braila is 60 km and Galaţi is 91 km. Trains no longer run on highway 700 between Urzichen and Feurey.

Feurei was chosen also because of the flatness of the Bărăganului plain and because the town was a railway hub and had social and economic importance. There were also days when 200 trains passed through Feurey station and the passenger and freight traffic was much higher than today, especially because there was a strong industry in Galatasaray and Brail and the trains were full of passengers.

Unlike now, many of the seasonal trains to Litoral that came from Ardeal ran on line 702 Buzău – Făurei – Fetești, instead of line 800 Bucharest – Constanța.

As much as it takes to “beat” us on the track in the Czech Republic

An analysis carried out by AFER shows that the successive modernization of the railway test center in Feurey, including the construction of a multi-voltage traction substation and the implementation, among other things, of a winding line and complex will cost 120 million euros. investments on a small ring. It would also be useful to expand the hall.

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One of the big changes will be to increase the maximum test speed from 200 km/h to 250 km/h, but this will require a complete overhaul of the track as well as the catenary. After such investments, Făurei will be much more competitive and will be able to attract more companies that need rail vehicle testing.

“AFER does not have that much money, especially since we are self-financed and do not practice high tariffs, compared to what is in the West, because we cannot destroy Romanian companies by raising tariffs at the Western level,” says Constantin Andronake, general director of AFER.

What is AFER’s plan: “We are working on the government’s decision to access the program in order to receive funding. I state this because we cannot enter into a funding program without a government decision, because it could be considered state aid, and if that happened we would have to return the money, we would do what happened to CFR Marfă”. – says the chairman of AFER.

AFER also held discussions with the Competition Board, who then asked how they could make things work, and the answer was that it would be up to the government to decide whether to enter the funding programme.

The place where Romania bought Alstom trains will also be checked

Făurei has contracts, operates two shifts, and the new trains from Alstom, which will run on the Romanian network from 2024, will be tested at the end of December, if all goes well. Several days of testing were to be held at the end of October, but the first train had not yet arrived from the plant in Poland.

In recent years, cars for the Swedish company, as well as electric trains of the Swiss company Stadler (some arrived in England, others – in Serbia) were tested at Făurei.

When asked whether there could be talk of privatization of the test center, AFER representatives very clearly said that it was not the case.

In Făurei, not only locomotives, wagons, motor vehicles or electric trains are tested, but since there are also test laboratories, they are useful for the whole railway industry in Romania and can be tested, checked and approved, including smaller railway elements such as sleepers or rails .

The main hall at Făurei was built decades ago when it was suitable for a locomotive and a car, but times have changed and a bigger hall will be needed, as more and more electric frames have been used in Europe for a long time.

The most famous railway test ring in Central Europe is in the Czech Republic in Velím, where a lot has been invested, many types of tests can be carried out, and the newest French trains called TGV M have also been certified in December 2022. These were tested at 200 km/h. Velim has testing requests from many companies, so the waiting time can be up to 2-3 years.

About the Făurei Railway Test Center

The Romanian Railways Authority – AFER owns the Feurei Railway Test Center in Feurei, Braila County, equipped for tests and trials specific to the railway industry.

The Făurei Railway Test Center was built in 1978 and between 2003 and 2008 it underwent an extensive modernization program with access to European funds.

Now it is possible to conduct dynamic tests of railway vehicles with a maximum speed of 200 km/h.

The main technical characteristics of the Făura railway test center

The total length of lines is 20.2 km, electrodynamically centralized, of which:

The big ring has a length of 13.7 km, has 6 bridges and 4 railway crossings;

The maximum speed is 200 km/h;

The small ring is 2.2 km long, has 5 bridges, is not electrified, and has a maximum speed of 60 km/h.

There is also a winding test line with curves and counter-curves of variable radii: with the smallest radius of 135 m and the largest radius of 250 m over a length of 765 m.

The 600 square meter hall has channels, winches and drawbridges.

Photo source: Dreamstime.com