Romania’s CFR IRLU, the maintenance company that services CFR Marfă rolling stock, has gone bankrupt. The company did not get enough orders from CFR Marfă to stay afloat.
The lack of orders from state-owned rail freight operator CFR Marfă is explained by the fact that the parent company itself is also essentially bankrupt – only being kept alive by a preventative agreement that will expire in March. The company is supposed to be replaced by a new rail freight operator, Carpatica Feroviar.
CFR IRLU only serviced CFR Marfă’s rolling stock, but was not restricted to doing so. Nevertheless, it chose not to service private operators, which in turn arranged their own maintenance facilities. Now, there are no private operators in need of CFR IRLU’s services, sealing the company’s fate.