The Romanian infrastructure manager CFR has announced new regulations which might see companies providing intermodal services lose discounts on track access charges (TAC). The decision “raises serious questions about the strategic direction of the railway sector”, said Victor Frasinoi, managing director at RCG Romania.
Frasinoi went on to explain that CFR introduced TAC discounts for intermodal services back in 2018. “Currently, CFR has announced to railway operators that have a lower intermodal volume in the period January-September 2025 compared to 2024 the cancellation of the 33% reduction in TAC for intermodal services”.
It’s not the operators’ fault
The issue is that rail freight in Romania has decreased 12% between 2024 and 2023, with the trend continuing this year, according to Frasinoi. This decrease, he argued, is likely to be reflected in the intermodal sector as well, hence the loss of the TAC subsidy scheme. This approach, however, assumes that the drop in volumes is mostly the fault of the operators, as they are being punished by losing the discount.
On the other hand, Frasinoi claims that the issue lies with CFR. The main issues are “a network suffocated by speed restrictions, rehabilitation works started and not completed for years, and ‘quick wins’ interventions that have dramatically reduced capacity and doubled transit times.” For example, he explained that intermodal traffic along routes where there were no infrastructure works that would generate significant capacity restrictions, intermodal volumes increased by 20% for some operators.