Romania's acting transport minister launches complaint form for train passengers

Romania's acting transport minister, Radu Miruță, announced the launch of an online form allowing train passengers to report problems encountered during their journeys. The initiative aims to help authorities identify recurring issues across the rail network based on passengers' experiences rather than railway companies' reports, he said. In a Facebook post, minister Miruță said he had received numerous messages in recent weeks from passengers complaining about issues such as broken air conditioning, train delays, lack of information, and poor travel conditions. To test the system himself, the minister said he called the CFR customer service center to ask how many complaints had been received, but gave up after waiting 15 minutes without an answer. He later met with the heads of CFR Călători, Romania's state-owned passenger rail operator, and CFR Infrastructură, which manages the country's railway infrastructure. “On paper, things look almost fine. The problem is that people don't travel on paper," Radu Miruță wrote. He said the new form is intended to provide an accurate picture of the situation on Romania's rail network and help authorities identify where action is needed. According to the minister, if inspections reveal maintenance services were paid for but not actually carried out, sanctions could be imposed in accordance with the law. The ministry will collect passenger reports from across the country for at least two weeks before analyzing the data to identify the most serious problems and determine what measures should be taken. Minister Radu Miruță encouraged anyone experiencing problems while traveling by train to submit a report through the online form. [email protected] (Photo source: Vlad Ispas/Dreamstime.com )