Acting Director of the WDM Sergiu Kotelnik
In February 2025, while inspecting the Cahul-Djurgiulesti railway line, Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolia said that train traffic should be resumed by the fall of 2025. “The 360-meter-long section near Veleni is one of the strategic tasks, on which intensive work is being done.”
The planned rehabilitation works include the implementation of a set of measures to protect against landslides and erosion; collection and drainage of surface water; strengthening of the banks of the Prut River in the area of possible landslides; erection of a support structure on the damaged section of the embankment, etc. The site near Veleni village suffered from irregular ground subsidence caused by natural disasters.
According to the Moldovan Railroad, the estimated cost of the repair works is about 53.4 million lei, financed from the budget. The project implementation period is set until December 30, 2025.
A bit of history. The construction of the Cahul-Jurculesti one-way railroad track with a length of about 50 km was carried out in 2007-2009. At that time, the company was headed by General Director Miron Gagauz, and in three years the company managed to build the road “from scratch” with its own efforts and funds. Without attracting credit funds and specialists from outside. Such were the capabilities of the successfully operating railroad. The embankment was made, rails were laid. The construction cost (at that time) 837 million lei. Freight trains and a passenger diesel train started to run along the new line.
However, problems soon appeared. The terrain in that region is hilly. To reduce the cost of construction works, the Cahul-Dzhurjulesti road was laid too close to the Prut River. The water periodically washed up the embankment. Train traffic was temporarily interrupted, money had to be found again for emergency repairs, etc.
However, the strategic goal was achieved at that time: as a result of construction it was possible to create a strategic route Chisinau-Cahul-Giurgiulesti, to ensure the delivery of goods to the developing port of Giurgiulesti and access to the sea through the Danube.
The Cahul-Giurgiulesti branch ceased to function in the fall of 2022, after devastating landslides in the section near the village of Valeni. These are exactly the 360 meters that are now scheduled to be restored. In fact, the entire road has been idle for three years because of this section.
Sergiu Cotelnic, acting director of the Moldovan Railroad, calls as his primary task the repayment of wage debts to the employees. And in order to improve the financial situation at the enterprise, it is necessary to cut costs and implement modernization projects. The company has no money of its own, so it has to rely on budget allocations.
As for the site near Welen, a firm was selected through a tender in 2023 to carry out site survey and design work. The government even decided to allocate 60 million lei for repairs. But the repairs have never started. The fate of the allocated money is still unclear. In 2024, another firm was appointed for the survey. By now, topographic and geodetic studies have been completed, and the analysis of soil movement due to landslides has been made. The hydrological parameters of the Prut River were also studied. Based on the results of the surveys, a decision is being made on how to reinforce the soil and the embankment.
The task of rehabilitating the Cahul-Djurgiulesti section has become urgent. Globally, it is a matter of transit railway transportation through Moldova, export/import of goods with EU countries.
The money to finance the repair works is included in the “Bugetul Plus” package, which provides for the allocation of 85 million lei for transportation projects. This includes the repair of the access road from Cantemir to the Falciu railway bridge and the section near the village of Valeni.
