Sergiu Cotelnic appointed new head of Moldovan Railways
Sergiu Cotelnic has been appointed as the new head of Moldovan Railways (CFM), as announced by Vladimir Bolea, the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development.
It should be noted that the interim director of the Moldovan Railways Company (CFM), Serghei Tomșa, submitted his resignation on February 25. This was confirmed to Teleradio-Moldova by Roman Cojuhari, the head of the Agency for Public Property.
Serghei Tomșa had served as the interim general director of Moldovan Railways since February 2024, following the resignation of the former director, Oleg Tofilat, on January 29. At that time, Oleg Tofilat outlined three main reasons for his resignation. Firstly, he expressed deep concern about the continuity of CFM’s operations, emphasizing the need for liquidity and operational proficiency.
It is worth mentioning that the situation at CFM began to worsen in August 2022, following the drastic reduction in railway transit from Ukraine with the reopening of the Odessa port. This shift led to a reduction in CFM's revenue, which in turn caused growing delays in the payment of employee salaries, resulting in several months of arrears.
Amidst financial decline and millions in salary arrears, CFM decided to implement a four-day workweek starting in September 2024. The company justified this decision by the significant reduction in freight transport volumes. In an attempt to alleviate the financial burden and partially settle salary arrears, CFM auctioned old wagons and parts throughout the past year, but these measures proved insufficient to restore the financial situation.
Dissatisfied with the ongoing situation, railway workers held several protests, but to no avail.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development has announced that salary arrears for August 2024 might be settled soon, but the debts will be paid off in stages. At the same time, authorities are attempting to reduce costs by implementing modernization projects.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
