3 billion euros are needed to rehabilitate the entire railway infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova. This was stated by Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spinu in the program “Territory of Freedom” on the “RLIVE TV “channel.
Currently, according to Spinu, work is being carried out on the Bender – Bessarabca section, which is 225 kilometers long.
Also this year, the rehabilitation of the 446-kilometre-long railway corridor Velcinet-Oknita-Beltsi-Ungheni-Chisinau-Kainari will start with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The total length of railway lines is 1,500 kilometers.
“Moldovan Railways” is in a difficult situation, as also stated by the former head of the institution, Oleg Tofilat. Of the 139 locomotives in operation, 134 have exceeded their amortization period. At the same time, more than 25% of the railway infrastructure is no longer operational and requires major repairs, and in a few years, traffic on more than half of the railways will be suspended.
Over the last 8 years, the state-owned enterprise has incurred losses of almost one billion lei. Losses have increased in recent years due to a reduction in passenger numbers, particularly in international traffic, but also in freight traffic. At the same time, revenues are steadily declining. The cost of rescuing the Moldovan Railway is estimated at several hundred million euros.
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