The Romanian Government approved the decisions about the leasing conditions in which the state-run company CFR rents some stretches of the inoperable railway infrastructure and also about closing some segments of the railway infrastructure, a public property of the state, namely 2,000 km of railway in an effort to save 109 million lei (about 25.6 million euros) in the budgets of the sector's public companies.

According to a release the Government's press office sent to Agerpres, following these normative documents launched by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure there will be several beneficial changes in the current economic situation, the conditions in which the CFR passenger train operator leases some segments of the inoperable railway infrastructure and some provisions regarding their management and exploitation as well. In addition, some 661.3 km of the public railway infrastructure could be closed over.

'The budgetary effort will aim to develop and upgrade the main railway lines and the inoperable railway infrastructure totalling 7,007.7 km where the largest part of the freight and passenger traffic unfolds and for the inoperable railway infrastructure we are going to further back the attraction of private capital.

As to closing disadvantageous railway lines, we are talking about a total of 1,104.621 km, with 661.300 km of the public railway infrastructure and 443.321 km private infrastructure owned by CN CFR SA and savings worth 40 million lei in the CFR budget,' the above-quoted release quotes Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Anca Boagiu as saying.

Since 2004 over 2,000 km of railway stretches have been leased so far, while the rest of over 1,000 km out of the total of 3,268.2 km are to be rented too, according to the provisions adopted on June 22.