Economy of Romania - Physical Infrastructure

Physical Infrastructure

The volume of traffic in Romania, especially goods transportation, has increased in recent years due to its strategic location in South-East Europe. In the past few decades, much of the freight traffic shifted from rail to road. A further strong increase of traffic is expected in the future.

As of 2009, there are only 280 km of motorways in use. However, there are plans to build over 1,000 km of motorways in the following years, including the Autostrada Transilvania, which is currently the largest road-building project in Europe. The railway network, which was significantly expanded during the Communist years, is the fourth largest in Europe.

Bucharest is the only city in Romania which as of 2009 has an underground railway system, comprising both the Bucharest Metro and the light rail system managed by Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti. Although construction was planned to begin in 1941, due to geo-political factors, the Bucharest Metro was only opened in 1979. Now it is one of the most accessed systems of the Bucharest public transport network with an average ridership of 800,000 passengers during the workweek. In total, the network is 67 km long and has 49 stations.