Coordination failures on Romanian railways slow Ukrainian grain shipments

Shortcomings in the organization of rail freight transportation in Romania are creating additional difficulties for Ukrainian grain exports through the port of Constanța and Danube ports. Despite the availability of a digital train traffic management system, insufficient coordination between the infrastructure operator and private rail carriers leads to prolonged wagon delays and reductions in planned shipment volumes. This was reported by Mykhailo Kravchenko, Head of Fleet Services and Commercial Transshipment Operations at Kernel’s Logistics Department.

According to Kravchenko, Romania’s rail freight market is largely dominated by private operators. Grup Feroviar Român (GFR) holds the largest market share, while state-owned freight operator CFR Marfă accounted for only 16.04% of the market in 2025. This model promotes competition but also complicates coordination among independent participants in the transportation process.

Romania uses the IMComm information system to manage train movements toward the port of Constanța and coordinate access to railway infrastructure. However, in practice, trains may wait for long periods for permission to proceed, while carriers may lack an available locomotive when a route slot finally opens. This is because private companies seek to maximize the utilization of their rolling stock and generally do not maintain substantial locomotive reserves.

As a result, a recurring problem emerges: when the infrastructure is ready to accommodate a train, the locomotive is elsewhere, and by the time it becomes available, the allocated train path has already closed. This lack of synchronization can leave grain trains stranded on the railway network for extended periods. It creates shortages of empty wagons, slows rolling stock turnaround and reduces planned volumes of Ukrainian grain transportation.

According to Kravchenko, Romania’s experience demonstrates that the development of private rail traction and the digitalization of traffic management do not, by themselves, guarantee efficient logistics. Stable grain exports require coordination between infrastructure capacity, locomotive availability and train schedules. Ukraine should take these challenges into account when preparing railway market reforms to avoid similar disruptions to freight transportation.

Tags: Romania, logistics, rail transportation, Ukraine, grain