ACHIEVEMENTS, DIFFICULTIES OF RUMANIAN RAILWAY SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700120594-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 13, 2011
• Sequence Number: 594
• Publication Date: August 19, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION CUNFIDENTIAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
SUBJECT Economic - Transportation, railroads
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers
WHERE
PUBLISHED Bucharest
DATE
PUBLISHED 22 Jan - 20 Feb 1953
unw or .,. ce.nrs~?oo..~c u., .. .. ~ .u*.c.i xo,n ae.'?
REPOR
CD NO
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1953
DATE DIST. / 9 Aug 1953
NO. OF PAGES 10
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
fc-omment: The following report, taken from Rumanian newspapers,
gives information on achievements and difficulties of the CFR iCaile
Ferata Romana, Rumanian Railway System). :n January and February
1953, the CFR and its component units were discussed in numerous
articles in the Bucharest daily newspapers These arti:les pointed
to increased efficiency, saving of fuel, and great production at
railroad workshops. The reports culminated in the announc'ment of
a nationwide conference of railroad workers Bucharest In L4
and 16 February, she newspapers carried speeches of delegates to
the conference, which criticized various aspects of railroad oper-
ations, On 16 February, the papers reported a. speech by Gheorgiu-
Dej which summarized achievements and errors In railroad opera-
tions. An examination of speeches made at the conference, to-
gether with individual newspaper articles published before and after
the conference, gives a general picture of difficulties of the CFR.
It is interesting to note in this connection that Rumanian news-
papers appear to emphasize each month the industry which is lagging
farthest behind in plan fulfillment. Coverage of the railroad con-
ference resembles that of the national conference of coal miners in
June and July 1952 At the coal conference, dele-
gates similarly expressed criticism of errors in mining The high-
light of that conference was also a speech by Gheorghiu-De.j As
a consequence of the coal conference,. Bucharest newspapers for
many months carried numerous reports of better living and working
conditions for miners and of a sustained drive for greater coal
production. Subsequently the Ministry of Coal attained a higher
degree of plan fulfillment than ever before
STATE
ARM(
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
NAW NSRB DIST,IBUTIDN
Ali
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National CFR Conference
Vista Capitalei. reported on 16 February that representatives of 180,000
railroad workers throughout Rumania attended a conference in Bucharest to dis-
cuss fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan in 4 yesrs,(2) According to Vista
Sindicala of 18 February, 1,100 delegates attended,(1) On 14 February, Vista
Capitalei reported that the conference, called by the Ministry of Railroads
and the CFR Trade Union, was under the chairmanship of ,Tone! Diaconescu,
Minister of Railroads. Speakers included A. Moist and Dumitru Gabor, general
directors in the Ministry of Railroads; Petru Moldoveanu and Ion Baicu, assis-
tant general directors in the Ministry of Railroads; Dumitru Mocanu, Assistant
Minister of Railroads; Ion C. Ion, personnel director in the Ministry of
Railroads; and speakers fron. CFR installations in Arad, Giarglu, Forsani,
Oradea, Timis, Medgidia, Adjud, and Bucharest (3)
Achievements of the CFR
According to Viata Capi.talei of to Fehr:arv. Gheorghiu-Deb, in his speech
before the railroad conference, discussed n:h:evements ;.,,t the CFR as follows;
During the war, a great part of the Biurainl:in railway system was destroyed.
Railroad centers and repair shops. such as Gr'.v!ta, Ploesti, Stalin, the Buch-
arest Marshaling Yards, and others were destroyed By the end of 19- 6, how-
ever, 83 percent of the system was repaired Large installations Such as
Grivita in Bucharest, the Bucharest Mar=haling Yard=, an,i installations in
Galati, Pascani, Simeria, and Rosiorl were rebuilt n 1450, rebuilding of
the CFR was completed. Particu'-.arty c .scinr.inc; vri; he nstru:tIcn of the
Bumbesti-Livezeni, the Rosiori-Craicv'., A%J Viseului lines.
Gbeorghiu-Dej stated that the volume of investments in railroads under
the 1953 plan is to be doubly '.ha? o:' 1952 Morn '.har half of this expenditure
is to be used for rebuilding and prcducirw. roll:, s ock In 1952, the first
electric line in Rumania was built between ?,:11n and Car,?,'na In 1952, the
production and repair of locomotives was 1, p'-scent. cre;,?er than to 1948, and
the production and repair of freight rays 25. pe;,-e?,r erer,ter The net kilo-
meter-tons of freight in 1952 was more than d_,ut,1.= the loll f;durc- The
average daily load carried by freight car-; was ?:4 p.,r-:,nt greater than in
1944.(2)
Production achievement?- in i.^?iiv!dua'_ reported before and
after the conference, were as follows
The Red Banner for Production was awarded to the Cluj Regiune CFR Direc-
torate for outstanding production by its units, Romani:: Liberu reported on
12 February,(4)
The Grivita Rosie Railroad Equipment Plant carried on a drive to fulfill
the Five-Year Plan in 4 years, Viata Capitalei states on . "February The
weldingtt lathe, and locomotive sections of the plant wens leaders in produc-
tion,.(51 On 10 February, the same newspaper reported Lila' Stekbancvites in
section IV-a of the plant were setting the pattern for other workers by
pledging greater production (6) An article appearing in Vista Capitalei
on 12 February reported that the boiler section, under Alexandru Codescu,
was exceeding its norms for the installation e` pressure tubes A. second
article on the same day, reported that members of car section. 11-a of Grivita
Rosie were exceeding norms by as much as 35 percent The welding brigade of
car section III-a fulfilled its plan for the production of electrodes 180
percent, saving 800 lei, The women's brigade in boiler section III-a sur-
passed its quota for the production of spacer bolts 40 percent.( 7) On 23 Febru-
ary, Vista Capitalei reported that boiler section Iii-a of Grivi.ta Roste had
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WOMEN
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pledged fulfillment of the 1953 plan ahead ut scheduie(9) .'uccrding to
Viata Capitalei of 14 February, the following sections, of Gri%r1ta Rorie were
surpassing production norms: assembly section Ii-a. machine section IV-a,
smelting section VI-a, boiler section [H-a, machine section II-a, and car
section III-a.(3)
On 22 January, Viata Sindicala reported that the worts hop of the
Bucharest Marshaling Yards was building is cur of the ITD type, for the fur-
ther expansion of transportation in Rumania A prototype was built by a
collective of 27 leading workers under Ion Ciomartan, chief n,f the car sec-
tion, and master Ioan Ionescu. The new car, which is to go Into mass pro-
duction in 1953, is equipped with journal boxer built according to Soviet
specifications, a welded chassis, and a-oading surface. 14 sluice meters
greater than that of old cars (9)
On 30 January, Vista Sindicala reported that the "lire Ptnttlie" CFR
workshop in Iasi was expected to begin mass prc,iu-t ion of iTD freight cars in
1953. Construction of large production ',hops for the m,n'ifacture of these
cars began in December 1952; however, the car section .If the workshop pledged
that it would turn out the first /TD car t:srng old Pooh t e and equip-
ment,.(10)
According to Romania Ltbera of 5 FFebruary, a tea type of electric mine
locomotive was being built by Electrop tere The r.ew locomotive was built
according to Soviet plans and with the aid of Soviet tcehnirtans it is to
be used at the V. 1. Lenin Hydroelectr'.c Power Plant to Bi:az and 'a mines (11)
Greater efficiency and the saving of fuel, an a result of new methods at
CFR installations, were reported as follows:
On 1 February, Romania Libera reported that :ne first train with planned
routing traveled from Socola Rosie to Na:-asesti Th,? tratr, consisted of 45
cars, A second article on the same day, reported that !1)- CFR installation
in Galati had surpassed its passenger train plan percent, :.s freight plan
11.6 percent, and its kilometer plan `,? percent, a r?'sult of the adoption
of new methods.,(12)
According to the 3 February issue of Rovurnia LC!era, the Port of Constants
Locomotive Depot adopted the slogan, "Let us fu_fi the plan in 10
months." Crews of 17 locomotives at the depot saved a:ri lubri:-ants
worth 17,700 lei between 1 and 20 January (:3)
According to Vista Capitalei of 5 February, the Bucharest M,1rchaling
Yards' locomotive depot made every effort to rationalize methods of trans-
portation and to plan train routes: Individual crews exceeded hauling plans
and conserved 60.9 tons of fuel in January 1953 114)
At Bucharest-Calatori, according to an article appearing in Romania
Libera of 5 February, workers pledged to cut the use of fuel 9 percent. As
a result, large quantities of fuel were conserved on locomotives 321,062;
2,209; 2,833; and 2,921, A second article reported that the Nicoiina-Iasi
Main Workshops, under the Iasi CFR Regiune Directorate, surpassed plans 36
percent and saved 7,630 kilograms of raw materials between 10 and 20 January.(11)
The same paper stated on 6 February that the F_teet! CFR Locomotive
Depot,using Soviet methods, had saved 400 tons of conventional fuel and lubri-
cants in January.(15)
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On 9 February, Vista Capitalei reported that stations under the Bucharest
SEF (Serviciul Exploatare Feroviara, Railroad Exploitation Servire) engaged
in competitions to reduce the time spent in stations by trains in transit
The Fieni, Chitila, and Bucharest marshaling yards' stations were particularly
successful in this competition.(-L6)
Romania Libera reported on 10 February that the Medgidia locomotive de-
pot had used 1.15 percent less fuel than planned, saving 32,578 lei in Jan-
uary. In addition, crews of the depot made every effot to travel greater
distances between repairs. A second article of the same date declared that
Bucharest-Calatori had saved 54 tons of fuel per o:o:notive in January 1953?
A third article stated that the CPR Motor Shop in Stalin had cut expenses by
using new Soviet methods. A fourth article on the CFR reported that the
Sibiu locomotive depot had saved more than 70,000 lei by cutting the time of
repairs and by better maintenance.(17)
On 11 February, the same newspaper reporte.s that th% C`R Installation
in Braila had cut the length of stops in trr,c tt, had snit.: ed delays in
transit, and had adopted the planned rout-Ink of trans As a result., the
equivalent of 18 cars per month were freed fur ?'sul!nu ':c '?
According to Vista Sindicala of 11 February, SEF Pascant stormed lu7
freight trains with 8,7 excess tons, Instead of the I.0u^ tons planned
According to a second article, the Resita Sovreneetal Transport Service,
using the Lunin and Papavin methods on nix locomotives, saved 16 tans of fuel
in January.(19)
SEF Rosiori sponsored competitions ;n Januar '_`?;? Ac a result, the
monthly plan of the enterprise was exceeued 5 1 percent eraee loads per
freight car on long hauls increased y per-.ent The percentage of trips
without freight was cut 6.2 percent more than planned, acrordtng to Vista
Capitalel of 11 February.(20)
On 12 February, Viata Sindicala stated that t`,c ltcani t'FR depot and the
Simeria locomotive depot were conserv!ng fuel avid upply:::g the Klavdiya Baran-
ovskaya method.(21) The same newspaper reported on 1I February that the Caran-
sebes locomotive depot and the Lugo ,S depot were s%::in~ fuel and exceeding their
transport plans.(22) On the same day, Rumania Lahr rt ::-ont?a ned three articles
concerning fuel economies and greater effiriencv st ::r,',roa;i inputs in Craiova,
Galati, and Oradea.(23) Romania Libera reported '.j rebri.tary that the Simeria
depot was cutting the quantities of fuel needed fur nau'_ink materials from
Simeria to Hunedoara (24)
Three articles in the 16 February issue of Viata Ce iuAlei described ef-
forts at Bucharest-Calatori, the Bucharest Marshe. lr',: Yards, and other
Bucharest railroad installations Jr honor of the rt:iiroad conference in pro-
gress in Bucharest, These installations saved fuel, increased traffic, ex-
ceeded plans, and formed trains with excess tonnage !'')
Romania Libera stated on 19 February that the CFR installation -n Caran-
sebes saved fuel by the Korabelnikova method (251 Romania Libera reported on
20 February that smelters, lathe operators, and boiler mak.r. of the Constanta
Port Locomotive Depot were exceeding quotas. Crews of trains were maktu6
every effort to surpass the plan for the. conservation of conventicoal fuel (26)
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Difficulties of the CFR
1. Equipment
Gheorghiu-Deb, speaking before the railroad conference in Bucharest,
pointed out the following difficulties in regard to railroad equipment, ac-
cording to Vista Capitalei of 16 February 1953:
Significant progress was made by the Rumanian railroad in late 1952
and early 1953, yet complaints have been that the CFR is unable to keep up
with industry or to fulfill transport needs, One of' the explanations for
this situation is the need for greater quantities of modern locomotives, freight
cars, and passenger cars. Although the number of locomotives new in use is
sufficient to meet present needs, the locomotives are old and An poor condition,
and repair work is slow. Larger locomotives of greater power are needed to meet
increased transport requirements, as well as to replenish the park and to create
reserves. In addition, the quality and speed of repairs must be improved
Gheorghiu-DeJ stated that there are not enough freight cars. Those
on hand are relatively old, are of inadequate capacity, and include too few
types. However, the rate of production of freight cars is continually on the
increase. In 1953, twice as many freight cars are to be produced as in 1951
Nevertheless, in order to overcome the continuied shortage, it will be necess-
ary to continue to increase the car park, to manufacture four-axle cars of
greater capacity, to develop new types of cars for special goods, and to improve
the speed and quality of repairs A new locomotive plant in Moldavia Is being
planned, and a new freight car plant will be built elsewhere in Rumania to sat-
isfy these needs,
He pointed out that passenger cars are old and uncomfortable. They
are unable to meet traffic needs. Consequently the new Flamura Rosie car
plant in Arad has been built to construct passenger cars, and Grivita Rosie
shops in Bucharest and Timisoara are Increasing production The number of
tracks must be increased, and temporary bridges must be made permanent. Flood
areas must be improved and other terrain problems which endanger roadbeds
must be overcome. Safety devices must be modernized, loading platforms must
be enlarged, and telecommunications equipment must be. brought up to date In
addition, ministries must take steps to overcome the la of discipline in
planning transportation. CFR shops must increase the rate of repairs These
shops will have to be reorganized and enlarged since the present repair situation
is unsatisfactory.(2)
This picture of the repair situation appears to be borne out by the fact
that the four Bucharest dally :newspapers carried numercus articles pointing to
increased efficiency and production, but reported only two instances of fulfill-
ment of repair plans. On 5 February, Vista Capitalei reported that the CFR
Spare Parts Shop had exceeded its January plan 1C b percent The lathe section,
the iron smelting section, and the bronze section were leviers In fulfillment (14)
On 15 February, Romania Liners stated that the CFR installation in Timisoara re-
ported plan fulfillment in its locomotive repair shop and motor vehicle repair
shop.(24)
Three speakers at the railroad conference pointed out reasons for poor
maintenance and repair of equipment as follows
Vista Sindicala of 14 February published a speech made by Gheorghe
Baba of the Oradea railroad car repair shop Baba declared that irregular
train traffic is due in large measure to personnel difficulties in all branches
of the CFR, but particularly in the repair service. The lack of labor disci-
pline constitutes a potential danger In a number of places employees on duty
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have been seen imbibing alcoholic beverages, which endangers the safety of
trains. Some workers attain successes at the expense of rules and regulations.
Administrative organs contribute to the negligence, thus incurring serious
losses and raising operating costs. Train repairmen are not taking measures to
prevent accidents. He concluded that the lack of personnel is largely responsi-
ble, and that the car repair service must attract more workers
Gheorghe Gheorghievici, subchief of locomotive section 9 at Medgidia,
also discussed.maintenance and repair, according to another article it the same
issues of Vista Sindicala. He declared that linemen do not conform to the
repair schedule. Team chiefs drive along the line without talking to the gangs
and thus fail to maintain discipline. Eighty percent of the railroad accidents
in areas under the jurisdiction of the installation are due rot to materials or
equipment, but rather to old methods, lethargy toward deviations in discipline,
and "familiarism" on the part of the leaders '22)
According to Romania Libera of 14 February 1953? ion Buic.u, Assistant
General Director of Railroad Construction, stated in a speech before the rnllroad
conference that the supply of materials and equipment to railroad construction
enterprises is behind schedule. He sail that the Ministry ci Railroa?.c, the
State Planning Commission, and the State Supply Committee must study the supply
of materials for the construction of railroads and bridges, parti:ularly at the
Danube-Black Sea Canal project, in order that schedules may be met (231
2, Personnel
In pointing out difficulties of the CFR in iu s speech at the railroad
conference, Gheorghiu-Dej emphasized personnel protlems, accerairg to Viata
Capitalei of 16 February.
He stated that the number of trained perscauie. )_ the CFR was 12 per-
cent greater in 1951 than in 1950, and 52 percent greater in 1952 than to 1950.
More than 2,000 young workers took railroad courses at intermediate technical
trade schools and at the Railroad institute ,uritit to