On Thursday morning, the CFR Călători Regio train was without a locomotive for an hour and a half. During this time, the locomotive was removed from the Regio train to be attached to the traction of the Interregio international train, which it delivered to Craiova, writes Railway Club. The locomotive then returned and was attached to the Regio train, which arrived at its destination 114 minutes late. How is this possible?

Internationalists had priority, those from Regio remained on the field

There were two mechanics in Craiova on Thursday morning when the locomotive of the IR 72 Traianus train broke down in Maldăeni. However, none of them went to tow the international train, although there was a working locomotive at Craiova station. The cited publication explains the objective reasons that led to such a situation.

Locomotive EA 898 hauling train IR 72 Traianus, Bucharest-Nord-Timisoara-Budapest Keleti broke down in Mădăeni, on Magistrala 100. Train RE 9902 was passing through the area, heading from Tirgu Giu to Bucharest Nord. The set was stopped at Maldaen, its locomotive (EA 335, six axles) was detached and attached to train IR 72. The Regio passengers were simply left on the train without the locomotive at the Maldaen stop, for 94 minutes.

During this time EA 335 pulled IR 72 Traianus to Craiova station where it was replaced by EC 086 (four axles) for international traction. The international train continued its journey to Budapest, while EA 335 returned to Măldăeni, from where it (again) boarded train 9902 to Bucharest North. Where he arrived 114 minutes late. More precisely, the train left Kraiova at 7:26 a.m. and arrived in the capital at 12:44 a.m. (more than five hours).

Train IR 72 left Bucharest at 5:40 am and arrived in Arad at 7:58 pm, three hours late.

There were two mechanics in Craiova: one was not allowed to drive further, the other could not drive EC type locomotives

This, in a nutshell, is what happened yesterday. Everyone asked why the Regio train was left without a locomotive to pull the international train, instead of bringing an auxiliary locomotive from Craiova. The first logical answer would be that there was neither a mechanic nor a locomotive in Kraiów. This is simply wrong, because there were two mechanics, writes Club Feroviar.

Not only were the two mechanics there, but there was also a serviceable locomotive EC 086 waiting to tow the IR 72 train on schedule. But why didn’t one of the two mechanics go to Maldaeni with this locomotive to receive the international train from there?

The explanation is as simple as it is hallucinatory, and once again proves the inferiority of the organization of traction activities on the state railway.

There were mechanics, there was a locomotive – “When there was Tika, there was no Tache, When there was Tache, there was no Tika.”

Well, the old saying from Olten was used in Craiova yesterday: “When there was Tika, there was no Tache, when there was Tache, there was no Tica”, writes ClubFeroviar.

Locomotive EC 086 was parked at Craiova station, ready to receive the traction of train IR 72 from locomotive EA 898. However, the latter broke down at Maldeen, 101 km from Craiova. It would be logical for the mechanic on EC 086 to go to Maldăeni to pull the train from there to Timisoara.

However, the driver of this locomotive was from the Timişoara depot and was not allowed to travel on highway 100 beyond Craiova in the direction of Bucharest. Therefore, according to the current instructions of the railway, he could not drive the locomotive to Maldaeni and back.

There were two mechanics in Kraiów. Selalat was a reserve mechanic, meaning he was registered on the job specifically to be able to intervene in situations such as the breakdown of EA 898. He was allowed to drive on Highway 100, including the Craiova-Bucharest section passing through Meldeeni. Why didn’t he board EC 086 to go to Măldaeni to tow train IR 72? Simple: he did not have the right to drive EC type locomotives, and there were no EA locomotives in Kraiów at that time.

It should be noted that the mechanic must have permission both for the type of locomotive and for a certain section of traffic. Diesel locomotives of the EA type have six axles, and of the EC type – four.

Why was a bad locomotive put to pull an international train?

It is no secret that the locomotive fleet of SNTFC CFR Călători is outdated, and it is not the fault (only) of the two, but of the politicians and all those who were involved in the management of the state-owned operator, called political. And Trajan Preoteasa is appointed politically, having been appointed to the position on the proposal of the PNL.

But Trajan Preoteaza was for some time the general manager of CFR Călători, and from that position he had to do his best to ensure that the locomotives were modern and that as many as possible were sent for repair/upgrading. And Mikhail Victor Manole was brought by Traian Preoteas from the CFR Marfa, so he is his confidant, writes Club Feroviar. Then yes, the fleet is outdated, but in this fleet some locomotives are better and some are worse.

On domestic transport, Romania recently applied for and received a four-year exemption from the European regulation that provides for compensation in the event of train delays. Therefore, the passengers of the Regio 9902 train cannot claim compensation.

On the other hand, international travelers, which were some of those on the IR 72 Traianus, can claim compensation for the delay, as the derogation does not apply in their case.