The volume of goods on the Romanian railway network has dropped by 18,5% in the first quarter of the year. Besides information about the volume drop, statistics agency INS released new data that paint a bleak picture for the sector.
Despite an 18,5% drop in the Q1 freight volume, transit through Romania grew by 47,7%. However, domestic transportation still occupies the lion’s share of the overall transported volume, at 79,9%.
The Romanian statistics agency came out with more negative trends for Q1 2025:
- Down by 30,4% – Average daily distance of freight wagons
- Down by 17,5% – Imported loaded wagons from abroad
- Down by 14,9% – Average daily distance of locomotives for freight
- Down by 11,1% – Loaded wagons on the Romanian rail network
- Down by 5,6% – Wagon mileage (wagon-kilometres)
- Down by 2,1% – Average gross weight of freight wagons
The positives
By contrast, the average running time of freight wagons went up by 23,5%. The average commercial speed of freight trains also saw a positive development, accelerating by 1,4%.
The Romanian rail freight market is still dominated by (bulk) fossil fuels. The newly released data shows that coke and refined petroleum products accounted for 26,5% of all freight in Q1. Coal, lignite, crude oil and natural gas took second place with 21,4%.