Romania Train Ticket Sales Dn 14% On Yr In August

Romania’s state-owned passenger railway company CFR Calatori reported a 14% decrease in ticket sale revenues in August compared with August last year, while subsidies accounted for 35% of ticket prices, company general manager Razvan Stoica said Wednesday.

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"This year, subsidies accounted for 35% of ticket prices while we need 60%, which is the European average," Stoica said during a seminar.

CFR Calatori received about 900 million lei (EUR1=RON4.2619) in subsidies this year.

Stoica said train ticket prices won't rise in 2010, when Romania has to liberalize its market and open it to international passenger transport operators, although prices have remained unchanged since 2007.

"I would like to increase ticket prices at least to cover inflation since the last increase in 2007, but I don't think that would be a good move on the market," Stoica said.

The Transport Ministry announced earlier this week plans to scrap over 10,000 jobs in the country's railway sector and more than 1,000 employees of CFR Calatori will be laid off.

Transport Minister Radu Berceanu said he wants 3.5% of gross domestic product assigned next year to upgrade the country's railway infrastructure, otherwise the ministry would have to discard some of its planned upgrade works.

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