THE GALATI RAILWAY JUNCTION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A062800110001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 19, 2012
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 26, 1962
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage iaws,* t1e50X1-HUM
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
S-E-C-R-E-T 1
SUBJECT The Galati Railway Junction DATE DISTR. 26 April 1962
NO. PAGES 6
REFERENCES RD
DATE OF L_
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
REPORT
THIS IS UNEVALUATED` INFORMATION. SOURCE GRADINGS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(Soviet) track. The following lines leave this
station:
standardagauge (European). tracks and one broad-gauge
Gara de A4afuri No. 8),on 8 Strada Garii, has eleven
a. The Galati-Marfuri railway freight station (formerly
changes are to be made in the Galati stations and track
systems.
city, between Filesti and Barbos,. 'Several far-reaching
The Galati railway junction is one of the most important
in Rumania as it connects $oldova,:Region with Muntenia
Region and places Galati in a key siton for trade wit
the USSR. Its direct connection Wtt^Hois"tanta is being
planned. The importance,of the Galati Junction will in-
crease with the construction of a ne rolling plant, to
be the largest in the country, w,'-,c is planned near the
2. Details of railway stations in Galati are as follows:
1) One standard-gauge track to Filesti.,Bkrbosi-
Faurei-Bucharest.
2) One standard-gauge track to, Birlad. At Racordarea-
Tulucesti this track joins a line to the USSR;
the Ministry of Armed Forces has sealed the signal
box (macaz) at the junction of the two tracks.
The. telecommunications department at Galati is
required to be ready to re-open the line as well
as;the signal apparatus on two hours' notice.
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IA I
x I NSA
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Fuld distribution by "#".)
DIA I X
REPORT INFORMATION RE-PORT
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3) One broad-gauge line and one standard-gauge track
running parallel lead to the Galati-Brates.station.
4) A railway line leayiing to Brates-Larga-Rena` (USSR)
leaves the Tunel "halt" station (the junction of the
Galati-Filesti-Barbosi-Faurei-Bucharest and the
Galati-Filesti-Barbosi-Tecuci lines) and crosses the
Galati-Birlad line.
The Galati-Calatori passenger station, which.is'located
in the vicinity of Gal .ti-Marfuri station, used, the
tracks of the railway freight station plus two tracks
terminating by the station platform.
C. At Brates railway station there are 13 standard-gauge
tracks (11 for freight trains and two for marshaling).
Two other tracks are used by railway cars requiring
minor repairs. The broad-gauge track from Galati,
Marfuri continues to the USSR. A marshaling yard for
the transshipment of goods between the USSR: and Rumania
is situated at Brates. The following lines leave Brates
station:
1) A narrow-gauge track to Galati-Marfuri,, which is-not
the same track as that from Galati-Marfuri to Brates,
branches off at a point between Brates and Galati-
Transbordare stations.
2) A standard-gauge track to Galati-Bazin station,
which is used for timber exports.
3) A standard and a broad-gauge track to Galati-Trans.-
bordare.
Larga stations and reaches,the Soviet side :at Reni,
where rail traffic is very limited as the station
serves mainly for contacts with the Soviets.
d. The station for exchanging Soviet car wheels and standard-
gauge wheels (Statia de Transpunere) is equipped with
overhead and mechanical cranes.
e. The station for transloading from'Soviet to Rumanian
trains and vice versa (Galati-Transbordare) has four
broad-gauge tracks and 'four standard-gauge tracks-
ter-minating inside the station yard. Warehouses, a customs
office, and other offices are situated next to this
station, which also has two ramps for military use and
a mobile crane.
f. Galati-?'arga station has 10 broad-gauge tracks. The
station includes a locomotive and rolling-stock shed,
a customs shed, a Frontier Guard unit, and the station
building. The following lines leave from Galati-Larga:
a dual-gauge line to-Beni; a staihdard-gauge to Galati-
Marfuri, and a standard-gauge track to Galati-Bazin.
g. From Galati-Bazin station one standard-gauge track and
a broad-gauge track (both with spurs) branch off to a
depot for export timber which is to be shipped down the
Danube River.
4) A standard-gauge.track along the Lake Brates quay,
which passes near Galati-Transbordare and Galati-
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3. Since 1951 there has been no railway passenger traffic to
and from the USSR via Galati. The Soviet freight trains
stop at Galati-Larga station, where frontier control and
customs inspections are carried out by a Frontier Guard unit.
The Frontier Guards board the Soviet train at a bridge near
the confluence of the Prut and Danube Rivers, about two kilo-
meters from Cotul Pisicii, but the inspection is carried out
at Galati-Larga only. The trains proceed to Galati-Bazin,
where various goods, including ores, are loaded and un-
loaded. Trains carrying equipment or machinery are directed
to Galati-Transbordare or to Statia de Transpunere, where
the goods are trans loaded to Rumanian trains or the car
wheels are adapted for standard-gauge tracks. The trains
continue to Brates station, where they are classified
aca ording to their loads and destinations. There they are
remarshaled before leaving for various parts of Rumania.
Rumanian trains leaving for the USSR are esaQrted by Rumanian
Frontier Guards to the bridge on the Prut River.
4. A traffic control station (regulator de circulatie), which
regulates and follows the movements of trains at Galati
junction and along the Galati-Tecuci, Galati-Fasten; and
Faurei-Tecuci lines, is located on the corner of Strada
Ruskin and Soseaua Colonel V'olosin.
5. The Galati junction telephone exchange, which is opposite
the traffic control station, between-Strada Ruskin and
Strada Republicii, is a Siemens exchange with 200 lines. It
was to be replaced by a Czech Tesla exchange in 1961. The
traffic directorate and the locomotive and rolling stock
offices have special telephone lines. The passenger
station has direct lines to the USSR and the Ministry of
Transport and Telecommunications in Bucharest and has a tele-
graph office with two teleprinters.
6. Details of bridges in Galati are as follows:
a. A metal railway bridge, which is 300 meters long, four
meters wide, and has a load capacity of 600 tons, spans
the Danube River at Reni.
b. A railway overpass, which is about 25 to 30 meters long,
is located at Racordarea-Tulucesti.
c. An 80 to 100 meter-long bridge with three sections, two
of which were reconstructed after World War II, spans
the Siret River.
d. A bridge which was constructed after World War II spans
the Prut River about two kilometers from Cotul Pisicii.
7. A 12-kVa power station with Deutz motors, which is used only
in special cases, and a transformer station which is con-
nected to the national electrical grid are located at
Galati-Transbordare railway station.
8. Safety precautions at Galati junction are rather primitive.
After the lineman has changed lines according to the traffic
clerk's instruction, he locks the levers with a special key
which is hung on a board in the signal box. Between
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Galati-Larga and Reni the lines are changed by iron bars,
each of which is slotted differently for use only at one
point. Trains crossing the Prut River bridge may be in-
spected as a precaution against sabotage (such as ex-
plosives,between the wheels) and stowaways, from a pit be-
neath the tracks which is equipped with searchlights.
9. Details of the various types of railway tracks are as
follows:
a. The "49" type, of which each meter of track weighs 49
kilograms, on the Faurei-Galati line.
b. The Tecuci-Barbosi line consists partly of the "49"
type and partly of the "45" , type.
c. The Galati railway station tracks are of the "30" type.
d. The Galati-Birlad line consists of "45" and "40" type
.tracks.
e. The Galati-Reni line, consists of "49" type tracks.
10. Details of locomotives are as follows:
a. The Bucharest-Galati line uses locomotives of the
"Pacific-230" type=for passenger trains and of the
"Pacific-50" type for freight trains.
b. The Galati-Birlad line uses "230" type locomotives for
both freight and passenger trains.
c. The Galati-Rena line uses "Pacific 230" and "231" as-well
as "50" and"150" Soviet-type locomotives. (The figures
in these designations indicate the number of r.p.m..of
the drive wheels.)
11. At Galati.-Larga station, the Soviet locomotives are supplied
with water, coal, and fuel oil. The Rumanian locomotives
are fueled at the locomotive depot near Galati-Marfuri
station. Rumanian locomotives may also take on water at
Brates station.
12. The following are classifications of various rail lines:
a. The Galati-Barbosi~+Fau?ei-Bucharest line is a main.line.
b. The Tecuci-Barbosi line is a secondary line, which may
be developed into a main one.
c. Birlad-Galati is a secondary line,
d. Reni-Galati is a main line for international freight
traffic.
13. With the construction of the new rolling mill, the railways
will have to insure steady supplies of raw materials and
heavy equipment. The rolling mill will have an annual
output of 4,000,000 tons of steel, as compared with the
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current total national output of 3,500,000 tons. Simultan-
eously with the planning of the rolling mill, the complete
automation of rail traffic is being planned and will in-
clude an automatic line changing system operated by the
traffic clerk and an automatic signaling system operated by
the trains. The sum of one billion lei has been allocated
for the development of Galati junction, of which the railway
authorities have already received 100 million lei. The
development plan is as follows:
a. A railway spur which leads into the plant and from which
other spurs will branch off to the various departments,
is to start from the railway line at signal box No. 2
at Filesti station.
b. As no trains carrying heavy equipment for the rolling
plant will be able to pass through the tunnel between
the "Halta Tunel" and Filesti, a number of lines and a
railway station are to be constructed on the present
site of Parcul Pionierilor.
c. The present passenger and freight stations will serve as
freight and sorting stations.
d. Another dual rail line will be laid from the Soviet
border through Tulucesti station to the rolling plant,
by-passing the mountains.
e. A small canal is to be constructed between the Danube
and Siret Rivers to enable river craft to transport
equipment from the USSR to the plant.
f. Another marshaling yard and sorting depot is to be con-
structed near the rolling stock inspection station.
All or part of the Barbosi station will be transferred
closer to the bank of the Siret River.
h. The Galati-Faurei and Tecuci-Barbosi lines are to be
double-tracked.
i. An automatic block system is being planned for the
Galati-Faurei line. The traffic clerk will be able to
change lines by pushing a button in his office, and
locomotives will automatically change se* phore lights
to red lion reaching the signals. After three kilometers
the light will change to yellow and after six kilometers
to green. If the next train reaches a green signal it
continues as usual, but if the signal is yellow it
slows down; if it is red the train stops for three
minutes and then continues at 15 kilometers per hour
until it reaches a yellow or a green signal. Until now
a similar system has existed only along the Bucharest-
Ploesti and Fetesti-Cernavoda lines. However, auto-
matic line changing and signaling systems exist at all
the main stations along the Cldj-Bucharest line and at
Arad, Timisoara, Craiova Nord, Rosiorii de Vede, Bacau,
Roman and Marasesti. Automation is now being intro-
duced at the main stations along the Adjud-Tecuci line.
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Work is to be started in 1962 on the automation of
stations from Fa?ei to Galati. Automatic telephone
exchanges for railway services, such as maintenance shops,
warehouses, workshops, and offices, are to be installed
simultaneously.
Work started in 1961 on the construction of a double-
track railway bridge over the Danube near Braila, in the
direction of Macin. Thos bridge will provide a direct
connection between Braila, Tulcea, and Constanta and will
shorten the trip from Galati to Constanta by about 16
hours.
k. According to plan, a freight and passenger station is.to
be established at Galati-Larga, which possibly may bring
about a renewal of passenger traffic between the USSR
and.}Zumania via Galati.
14. Additional installations in the Galati area are as follows:
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a. A tunnel three kilometers long (where.trains are limited
to a ,mum speed cause.the tunnel walls are weak)
.is situated on the lati-Birlad line between Talasmani
and Docaneasa railway stations.
b. A strategic road (on which traffic is now quite sparse)
starts opposite Foltesti railway station and continues
to the Prat River and on to Cahul.
c. In Galati, underground telephone and telegraph cables
run at a depth of 1.20 meters along Soseaua Colonel
Volosin (formerly Ales. Prutului), on the left side of
the road going from the tin center. The cables run in-
side square concrete pipes, divided into four chambers,
each chamber housing 24 cables plus two wires. Manholes
for inspecting the cables are located at intervals of
100 meters. There are 40 overhead telephone and tele-
graph cables above the pipe, eight made of copper, four
of copper covered with ron, and the others entirely of
iron.
d. Three underground pipelines carrying fuel from Ploesti
to the USSR are installed at a depth of about 2.5 meters
along the quay of Lake Brates, between the quay and the
standard-gauge railway track. Two of the pipelines are
50 centimeters in diameter and the third is 60 to 70
centimeters. All three pass the Siret River parallel to
the bridge and on its right side, going from Buchar st.
A fuel pumping station is situated near Barbosi railway
station.
snowing a oca ons or signal boxes, railway tracks,
stations and other installations in the Galati area.
a large sketch,.with legend, 50X1-HUM
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Signal boxes.
European track.
Soviet track.
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Dual/rail track.
telephone and telegraph cables.
underground oil pipeline.
1. To the port.
2. Shipyard.
3. Cristea Nicolae Factory.
4. Prutul Oil Factory.
5. Dock.
6. Locomotive inspection station.
7. Signal Box No. 1 for passenger trains.
8. Signal Box No. I for freight trains.
9. Signal Box No. 2 for freight trains.
10. Signal Box No. 3 for freight trains.
11. Signal Box No. 4 for freight trains.
12. Signal Box No. 5 for freight trains.
13. Warehouse.
14. Locomotive shed.
15. Military ramps.
16. Railway freight station (Gara de Marfuri).
17. To the town telephone exchange.
18. Galati railway station telephone exchange.
19. Railway traffic controller.
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20. Railway passenger station.
21. Gheorghe Apostol Metallurgical Plant (Uzina Metalurgica
Gheorge Apostol).
22. Signal box.
23. New warehouse for export timber.
24. Bain railway station.
25. Tunel halt station.
26. Tunnel.
27. Filesti railway station.
28. Site of the rolling plant; now under construction.
29. Fuel pumping station.
30. Barbosi railway station.
31. To Braila.
31A. To Tecuci
32. Tulucesti railway junction (Racordare).
33. Tulucesti railway station.
34. Frumusita halt station.
35. Foltesti railway station.
36. Baieni halt station.
37. Tirgu Bujor railway station.
38. Fulgereni halt station.
39. To Birlad.
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40. Brates railway station.
a
41. Station for transloading of goods from Soviet to Rumanian
trans and vice versa (Static de Transpunere).
42. Marshaling yard (Static de Transbordare), customs office, and
other installations.
43. Mobile crane.
44. Frontier Guards unit.
45. Customs.
46. Larga railway station.
47. Garage (Remiza).
48. To Reni.
49. To the ore sorting warehouse.
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