Changes in the railway network in Romania before and after accession to the EU (1990-2020)
Changes in the railway network in Romania before and after accession to the EU (1990-2020)

Summary/Abstract: The work deals with the changes in the railway network in Romania in the years 1990-2020. As in other countries, it is characterized by regress, but to a lesser extent than in the countries of the region. The aim of the study is to indicate the size of the changes taking place in terms of four spatial levels: country, macroregions, development regions and Romanian counties. Another goal of the analysis undertaken is to assess changes in the quality of the railway network in the analyzed period. Two research hypotheses were put forward, the first one with a small impact of the EU funds on the development of the rail network, the second about the lack of impact of EU funding on changes in the quality of rail transport in Romania. In the research and data analysis, the official Romanian statistical databases on changes in the length of railway lines in individual spatial ranges for the analyzed period were used, as well as data from the „Ranking railroad, The Global economy” portal to assess quality changes in rail transport. Statistical methods and rankings were used in the analysis. The method of comparisons with other countries in the region was used to assess the quality changes. In the study, the literature on the subject was widely used, both concerning the studied country and other countries in the regions of Central Europe and the Balkans. The thesis about the low impact of EU funds on changes in the railway network, which has been positively verified, has been verified. The result of the study is an indication of a much smaller regress in rail transport in Romania than in other countries of the region. The greatest increase in the length of railway lines took place in the eastern regions of the country and in border counties, especially on the border with Hungary. In the analyzed period of time, the quality in rail transport did not improve significantly in practice.

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