Câmpulung Moldovenesc – Vatra Dornei railway line

Câmpulung Moldovenesc – Vatra Dornei
Course book route (CFR) :	502
Route length:	41 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV 50 Hz  ~
Legend from Dărmăneşti 67.726 Câmpulung Est 70.546 Câmpulung Moldovenesc 73.849 Sadova 76.876 Pojorâta to Fundu Moldovei 85,700 Valea Putnei Mestecăniș tunnel (1647 m) 91.649 Mestecăniș 97.521 Iacobeni 103,200 Argestru Bistrița Aurea 107.712 Vatra Dornei 108.872 Vatra Dornei Băi to Prundu Bârgăului

The Câmpulung Moldovenesc – Vatra Dornei railway is a main line in Romania . It runs in the south of the Bukovina in the valleys of the Moldova and Bistrița Aurea rivers . It crosses a ridge of the Eastern Carpathians .

history

During the creation of the railway line, it was on the territory of Austria within the Habsburg dual monarchy .

In 1888 the local railway Hatna – Kimpolung (today Dărmăneşti – Câmpulung Moldovenesc) was opened, which was operated by the Bukovinaer local railways. Above all, it served the development of the remote mountain regions of Bukovina and promoted forestry and wood processing there.

On October 23, 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph I granted the Bukovina local railways the requested concession to extend this line from Kimpolung (today Câmpulung Moldovenesc ) to the health resort Dorna Watra (today Vatra Dornei ). The construction time was estimated at 1½ years for the section to Valeputna ( Valea Putnei ) and 3½ years to Dorna Watra. This concession was linked to the contract to build a branch line from Pożoritta ( Pojorâta ) to Louisenthal ( Fundu Moldovei ) in order to connect to the mines there. The concession was to be valid until June 4, 1973.

Both sections could be opened to traffic ahead of time: the section from Kimpolung to Valeputna on January 9, 1901 and from Valeputna to Dorna Watra (a 1647 m long tunnel had to be built here) on October 29, 1902.

During the First World War , the route was the scene of fighting between Austro-Hungarian and Russian troops and was of great strategic importance , especially due to the advance of Russian troops during the Brusilov offensive in 1916. The Austro-Hungarian authorities arranged for the construction of a provisional railway line from Prundu Bârgăului in Transylvania over the Tihuța Pass to Dorna Watra in order to enable the own troops in the Bukowina, cut off from all other railway connections, to have an efficient supply.

After the end of the war, the Bukovina came to Romania; the operation of the line was taken over by the Romanian state railway CFR . The railway line described here was the starting point for the important long-term crossing of the Eastern Carpathians in the direction of Transylvania, which was completed in 1940 .

Current situation

Along with the Sfântu Gheorghe – Siculeni – Adjud railway, the line is the only connection between the east of the country and Transylvania and is accordingly important for passenger and freight traffic. It is electrified and mostly single-track; only the section between Pojorâta and Iacobeni is double-tracked. Currently (2009) around nine local trains and seven express or express trains run per day and direction.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Austrian Imperial Law Gazette of October 23, 1899
2. ^ Office central des transports internationaux par chemins de fer: Bulletin des transports internationaux par chemins de fer. Office central des transports internationaux par chemins de fer, 1902. Ed. 10, p. 382
3. ^ Armin Kausen: General review. Issue 13, part 2. 1916
4. ^ German Reichsarchiv: The World War 1914 to 1918. The military operations on the land. Verlag Mittler & Sohn, 1925. P. 90