Giurgiulești–Cahul railway line fully operational

Giurgiulești–Cahul railway line is now fully operational, opening up new perspectives for reorganizing freight transport in the Republic of Moldova and reducing dependence on road transport. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Vladimir Bolea said that with the reactivation of this section, the authorities are holding discussions with economic agents regarding the transportation of goods by rail.

“From this moment, the Giurgiulești–Cahul railway line is fully functional. Intensive discussions are being held with companies importing petroleum products to switch from road to rail transport. We are also in talks with fertilizer importers who currently take their goods from the free port and transport them by road, in order to shift these volumes to rail freight, as well as many other types of goods which, for economic security reasons, were being transported by road,” Bolea said.

The official stressed that this reorientation of transport could reduce pressure on road infrastructure, lower logistics costs for businesses, and increase the efficiency of supply chains.

“With the rehabilitation of the elevated line in the city of Cahul, the road contractor who was bringing in the gravel made of granite, when we changed the standards, used to bring it by truck; now they load 3,000 tons into rail wagons and transport it by rail, a single time, 3,000 tons to be unloaded. If you divide 3,000 tons by 22 tons per transport unit, just imagine how many trucks we have taken off the roads, how many trucks we have removed from customs, how many bottlenecks have been eliminated solely by upgrading a single railway segment, which now allows us to handle this gravel import by rail as well. This is extremely important from an economic point of view. It means lower expenses, it means much higher profits,” Bolea explained.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that with the rehabilitation of the Giurgiulești–Cahul section, the Republic of Moldova now has a fully functional railway network.

“Today, if you start from Briceni with goods, they reach the international port of the Republic of Moldova, in Giurgiulești, traveling entirely across the territory of the Republic of Moldova. This again means safety, it means time savings and savings in financial resources,” Bolea said.

Looking ahead, the authorities are relying on expanding cooperation with European partners and on the full integration of the Republic of Moldova into international railway corridors, which would turn the country into an important regional logistics hub.