The royal train witnessed an important part of Romania’s history going through three forms of government: monarchy, communism and democracy. The train was ordered by King Ferdinand I in 1926 at the Ernesto Breda Construzioni Meccaniche factories in Milan, so that His Majesty and Queen Mary could make state visits to neighboring countries. The train was ready a year after the death of King Ferdinand and was used by his family.
The train is composed of the lounge coach, the King’s coach, the Queen’s coach, the guest coach and the coach of the House of His Majesty the King. The lounge coach is the one in which official dinners were held, and consists of the living room, where 24 people can sit at the table and a lounge with 12 seats.
In the Royal Train, over time, four generations of the Royal Family traveled: Queen Mary, King Charles II, Queen Helen, King Michael and Her Majesty Margaret.

Source: https://familiaregala.ro/resedinte/trenul-regal

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On the Day of the Holy Voivode Stephen the Great, celebrated on the 2nd of July, you can make a journey of the Suceava – Putna route, a railway in the historical province of Bucovina. Measuring 73 kilometers, it connects the former capital of Moldavia during the rule of Stephen the Great and the Putna Monastery.
Considering that 2021 is the European Year of Rail, this represents a good opportunity to discover the secondary railways which were closed and reopened for their touristic and historical value, such as Suceava – Putna, with the following path: Suceava – Suceava North – Dărmăneşti – Milişăuţi – Ţibeni – Dorneşti – Rădăuţi – Gălăneşti – Vicov – Vicovu de Jos – Bivolăria – Gura Putnei – Putna Troiţă – Putna Centru.

Travelling by train on this route shall lead you into an area full of history and beautiful landscapes. The line crosses a part of the Suceava Corridor, on the left side of the Suceava River. Parenthetically, between Dorneşti and Vicşani, the railway overlaps the broad gauge line connecting with Ukraine. Here, the trains circulating towards Putna reverse (change travelling direction). After crossing the Suceava river, the railway reaches the town of Rădăuţi, then the Suceava Valley and climbs through a forested area to Gura Putnei.

Once you have reached Putna, it is impossible not to visit the Putna Monastery (located about 1.5 kilometers from the railway station), founded by Stephen the Great and one of the most important historical and cultural centers in Moldavia, as well as the cell of Daniil the Hermit (1 kilometre) or the Wooden Church from Putna, all included in the Historical Monument List from Romania and/or the Suceava County.

Also, in Suceava, one of the oldest and most important cities in the country, which was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia for almost two centuries, you can visit numeous historical and touristic landmarks, spread throughout the city and its sorroundings: The Bucovina Village Museum (household in Straja), the Suceava Seat Fortress, the Şcheia Fortress, the Princely Court, the History Museum, the Natural Sciences Museum etc.

The railway traffic in Suceava is provided by two mmonumental stations built just 3 kilometres apart. The Suceava or Burdujeni Station represents one of the city’s landmarks, built in eclectic style, after the model of the Swiss Fribourg Station. It is the largest station in the former Romanian Principalities and has been kept totally unaltered until the present day. The second station is Suceava North, also known as the Iţcani Station, built in 1871 in the Iţcani locality, today a district in the city of Suceava.

From Gura Putnei (altitude of 473 metres) to Putna (532 metres), the railway climbs 60 metres over a distance of just 5.5 kilometres, due to the fact that Putna lies in a wavy relief in the Mountains of Obcina Mare, part of the Eastern Carpathians.

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The “Ceferiada” Event click here
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Rail transport connects Europe click here
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140 years from the first railway built entirely by Romanian engineers click here
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The beginning of railways in Europe click here
The history of the royal train – CFR Călători click here
The Danube Cliff and the Filești Tunnel in the European Year of Railways click here
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The Caracău Viaduct – the largest concrete arched viaduct in Romania click here
The Royal Station of Bucharest Băneasa click here

The construction of railways throughout Europe has brought huge changes in the whole economic and social activity and continues to play an important role in the development of the continent to this day. The history of the railway transport began in Great Britain and then spread to continental Europe and each nation approached railways differently.

Each European country has a different history regarding the railways, but the development of the modern railway system occurred due to the following factors: technological progress and the need to transport military troops and equipment. The first locomotives used steam engines. Steam engines were not initially suitable for the railway transport because they provided an oscillating linear motion that had to be transformed into a rotary motion of the wheel.

The first problem was solved by James Watt by inventing an engine that incorporated his researches on the use of high pressure steam on pistons and created the first steam locomotive in 1784. By developping the metal processing and metallurgy in 1783, the metal used in the construction of the first trains became more resistant due to the removal of impurities.

The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars also contributed to the development of the railway network in Europe. The loss of horses during these wars necessitated an alternative form of transport. Thus, by 1820, a properly functioning locomotive has been designed and the infrastructure construction process had been developed and widespread enough to make possible the existance of cheap and quality railroad tracks and hence the history of the railway transport in Europe was different depending on the country.

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CFR Călători, partner of Connecting Europe Express! click here
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Romania – Founding Member of the International Union of Railways! click here
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The “Ceferiada” Event click here
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Intelligent transport click here
The TRAIN = The railway transport is cleaner click here
140 years from the first railway built entirely by Romanian engineers click here
The railway connection of the Capital with the East and the West, in the beginning click here
Explore the railway route Suceava – Putna click here
The history of the royal train – CFR Călători click here
The Danube Cliff and the Filești Tunnel in the European Year of Railways click here
The Filiași – Bumbești – Livezeni railway click here
The Caracău Viaduct – the largest concrete arched viaduct in Romania click here
The Royal Station of Bucharest Băneasa click here

Although road transport has advanced in recent decades, it is expensive and does not provide a solution for all people. It has detrimental effects on environment and climate, but railway transport tends to solve all these problems.

According to the EU Green Agreement by 2050, the aim is to switch to the use of alternative fuels for the total elimination of carbon emissions, and the railway transport can help because the railway pollutes 8 times less and emits 9 times less CO2 than the road transport, according to CER. For this reason, in Romania it is invested in electrification of the main railway lines, modernization and efficiency of electric locomotives, the purchase of trains with alternative fuels (hydrogen trains), the modernization of all coaches with ecological toilets, etc.

Traffic is one of the main problems of big cities, and the number of people moving to and from work and / or schools is very high. Thus, traveling by train is an alternative to road transport, offering passengers more options. Besides being the most environmentally friendly mode of transport and has a generous space that gives freedom of movement, the train can avoid hours lost in traffic, unnecessary expenses and allows optimizing every moment of the journey, whether we are talking about travelling between cities or just to work / school.

CFR Călători is attentive to the transport needs, requests and expectations of the passengers and the decisions we make are based on the passengers and their needs. Therefore, in addition to the ongoing concern to maximize the capacity and to provide safe, efficient, economical and quality services for a better experience on board our trains, we carry out rolling stock modernization programs and continue to strive to ensure and increase mobility of citizens and rail connections between all areas of the country.

Traveling by train is the transport of the future to which we are striding because the railway is a sustainable solution for the transport of passengers and goods to reduce CO2 emissions, offering passengers and businesses an environmentally friendly transport choice.

#AnulEuropeanAlCăilorFerate2021

#EUYearofRail

Other articles on the same subject:

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The future of transport is the railway – Chose the railway! click here
Romania – Founding Member of the International Union of Railways! click here
Railway transport – the Most Ecologic Type of Passenger Transport in Europe click here
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140 years from the first railway built entirely by Romanian engineers click here
The railway connection of the Capital with the East and the West, in the beginning click here
The beginning of railways in Europe click here
Explore the railway route Suceava – Putna click here
The history of the royal train – CFR Călători click here
The Danube Cliff and the Filești Tunnel in the European Year of Railways click here
The Filiași – Bumbești – Livezeni railway click here
The Caracău Viaduct – the largest concrete arched viaduct in Romania click here
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In 1869, Romania became the third country in Eastern Europe, after Russia and the Ottoman Empire (in Dobrogea) which had a railway line. The first cities interconnected by a railway were Bucharest and Giurgiu.

In the summer of 1869, the construction of the Bucharest – Filaret – Giurgiu line was completed and on August 26, King Carol I left by train for Giurgiu, from where he then traveled on the Danube to Germany. This was an isolated line with a length of 67 km, which connected the capital with the Danube and a direct connection with the East and the West.

It is the tenth railway line built on the territory of today’s Romania and the first in the Old Kingdom. It was opened to trains circulation on October 19, 1869, when it was officially inaugurated. Then, two festive trains left Filaret Station – the oldest station in the Capital, at an interval of 15 minutes. The first train was driven by the builder John Trevor Barkley himself, and the second by the first Romanian locomotive mechanic – Nicolae Tănase. Because the route of the line passed near Călugăreni, where in 1595 the ruler Mihai Viteazul had achieved a success against the Ottomans, the first locomotive was named “Michaiu Bravul” in his honor. The second locomotive that ran in Romania on Bucharest – Giurgiu line was called “Călugăreni” and is currently in the patrimony of the Railway Museum in Bucharest.

In 1872, on December 13, with the inauguration of the second station of the capital – Targoviste Railway Station (since 1888 Bucharest North), the railway connection between Filaret Railway Station and Targoviste Railway Station of 6.9 km long became usable, thus connecting a line singular with the highways that ensured the international connections between the West and the East.
On June 20, 1954, the inauguration of the bridge over the Danube from Giurgiu takes place (Friendship Bridge 3.9 km) – with a length of 2224 m – with two levels (railway and car) which made the direct railway connection of Romania with Bulgaria, through Russian border crossing.

Thus, the Bucharest – Giurgiu – Ruse railway became a main international route until 2005, when the railway bridge from Grădiștea collapsed due to floods, the traffic currently taking place through Videle.

Also, the shortest road from Romania to Vienna in 1869 was from Bucharest to Giurgiu, by train, and then by boat on the Danube to Vienna.

Bibliography:
The small monograph of the Romanian railways, vol 5, 1999, author Ing Radu Bellu
HISTORY OF THE ROMANIAN RAILWAYS, Bucharest 2014, authors CENAFER and the CFR Museum

Other articles on the same subject:

CFR Călători, partner of Connecting Europe Express! click here
The future of transport is the railway – Chose the railway! click here
Romania – Founding Member of the International Union of Railways! click here
Railway transport – the Most Ecologic Type of Passenger Transport in Europe click here
Steam locomotives museum in Reșița click here
The “Ceferiada” Event click here
Steam locomotives museum in Dej click here
Rail transport connects Europe click here
Intelligent transport click here
The TRAIN = The railway transport is cleaner click here
140 years from the first railway built entirely by Romanian engineers click here
The beginning of railways in Europe click here
Explore the railway route Suceava – Putna click here
The history of the royal train – CFR Călători click here
The Danube Cliff and the Filești Tunnel in the European Year of Railways click here
The Filiași – Bumbești – Livezeni railway click here
The Caracău Viaduct – the largest concrete arched viaduct in Romania click here
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The Buzău – Mărășești railway route, opened in 1881, is the first railway built by a railway unit of the Romanian state. The construction was a real success, which started the construction of railways in Romania, without foreign concessionaires.

Inaugurated on October the 18th, 1881, the construction of the Buzău – Mărășești railway line – “the first rail line that directly connects Moldova with Muntenia” (The Time newspaper from 1881), meant a complete success of the Romanian railway technique. The route was well chosen, with many alignments (the longest was 18 km), required the construction of eight wooden bridges, and the costs were much lower than in any other country in Europe. The motor rolling stock came from the rolling stock of the Russian railway lines built during the War of Independence, such as the Russian locomotives “Unirea”, “Independenţa”, “Şoimul”, “Putna”, etc.

During the construction of the Buzău – Mărășești railway line, several important events took place for the Romanian railways.

• In 1880 the Romanian state repurchases from the C.F.R. Shareholders’ Company (set up in place of the Strussberg consortium) the 921 km of simple track (including the rolling stock and all facilities) which it operated.
• On April the 23rd, 1880, the “Princely General Directorate of Railways” (in short, the General Directorate of the C.F.R.) was established, in charge of the construction and operation of the railways in the United Principalities of that time. This entity repurchases, seizes and unifies the railway network on the territory of Romania, either state owned or leased.
• On July the 1st, 1882, the other railway lines that were not part of the Strussberg concession were included, including the Cernavodă – Constanța railway line.
• Also, July the 1st, 1882 is the date when the total unification of the Romanian railway network takes place (the country had become a kingdom in 1881), and on June the 28th, 1882 the Law for the unification of all Romanian railways was passed.

It should be noted that at that time most of the world’s railways were built and operated by private companies. Considering this fact, the takeover by the Romanian state of the construction, operation of the railways and their administration through a general directorate represented an act of courage, but also the fact that the country had confidence in the training, capacity and energy of the competent staff.

Immediately after the creation of the General Directorate of C.F.R., the development of the network and its operation took a big leap. By the end of the First World War, the Romanian railway network almost tripled compared to the one existing in 1879, reaching 3,838 km of railway in operation, with over 400 of railway stations and stops. The growth of the network between 1879 – 1919 was on average about 60 km per year. The budget of the General Directorate of C.F.R. has increased year by year. But the increase in traffic was proportionally higher, constantly accumulating a surplus in revenue, interrupted only between 1916 – 1919 when Romania took part in the First World War.

The development of the railway network and its operation have increased the conditions necessary for the general development of the country’s economy.

Law for the construction of the Buzău – Mărășești railway line, the first built by Romanian engineers.

#AnulEuropeanAlCăilorFerate2021
#EUYearofRail

Bibliography:
The small monograph of the Romanian railways, vol 6, 2001, author Ing. Radu Bellu
HISTORY OF THE ROMANIAN RAILWAYS, Bucharest 2014, authors: CENAFER and the CFR Museum

Other articles on the same subject:

CFR Călători, partner of Connecting Europe Express! click here
The future of transport is the railway – Chose the railway! click here
Romania – Founding Member of the International Union of Railways! click here
Railway transport – the Most Ecologic Type of Passenger Transport in Europe click here
Steam locomotives museum in Reșița click here
The “Ceferiada” Event click here
Steam locomotives museum in Dej click here
Rail transport connects Europe click here
Intelligent transport click here
The TRAIN = The railway transport is cleaner click here
The railway connection of the Capital with the East and the West, in the beginning click here
The beginning of railways in Europe click here
Explore the railway route Suceava – Putna click here
The history of the royal train – CFR Călători click here
The Danube Cliff and the Filești Tunnel in the European Year of Railways click here
The Filiași – Bumbești – Livezeni railway click here
The Caracău Viaduct – the largest concrete arched viaduct in Romania click here
The Royal Station of Bucharest Băneasa click here