Rail traffic on Cahul-Giurgiulesti segment to be suspended

Both freight and passenger rail traffic on the segment between Cahul and Giurgiulesti will be suspended for safety reasons, Info-Prim Neo learned from a press release of the state enterprise Moldova Railways. Following a routine inspection on the segment, it was found that the groundwork underneath the rails had been affected in one place by the heavy rains that fell recently. The railroad in the affected area is just 1.8 meter from the Prut River. “This is the smallest distance between the whole railroad and the Prut. In other words, there is a risk that the cross ties might literally fall into the river”, said Moldova Railways director Vitalie Struna. As the Code of Railroad Transport prescribes, traffic along the entire segment must be suspended until the problem is fixed. The estimated cost of the segment's repair is 350 million lei. The Moldova Railways notified the Government of the problem, requesting it to create a task-force to study the situation.