In this context, Prof. Pencea previously stressed that the main way to reduce pollution caused by transports is developing priory the ship transport (both sea and inland waterway shipping). Another means of transport with a reduced impact on the environment is the rail transport, reason for which the EU, through the European Commission, recommended to the Member States to support projects aimed at increasing freight volume on the railway, especially on long distances.
Although the railway transport is both less polluting and cheaper, the producers and enterprisers would rather benefit from road transport services, as this means of transport is faster, more flexible (due to the possibility of door-to-door transport) and less bureaucratic.
These qualities of the road transport made it better for many customers despite the fact that costs per tone-km are higher than if the railway would be used.
As far as the Romanian railways are concerned, which find themselves in a very poor condition many things need to be done. Even though the authorities clearly stated the objective of modernizing the infrastructure on the Curtici-Constanta mainline, and works are in progress, the pace is slow. Simply stating an objective is useless if there’s no money to support it, concludes Prof. Pencea.
