The first railway in the Kingdom of Romania opened in 1869 and linked Bucharest and Giurgiu. The first railway on electric current in the current Romanian territory opened in 1854, between Oravița and Baziaș in Banat, right next to the border with Serbia; however, that region was under the administration of the Austrian Empire at the time, and became part of Romania after World War I.[citation needed]
Since then, the Romanian railway network has been significantly expanded, and is now the fourth largest in Europe by total track length, comprising 22,298 km (13,855 mi).[1] Of these, some 8,585 km (5,334 mi) are electrified. The route length is 10,788 km (6,703 mi).[2] Romania's railway system is inadequately-connected and one of the least durable railway systems globally.[3][4][5][6]
Romania is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Romania is 53.
The network used to be operated by Căile Ferate Române, the state railway company, but since 1998, a number of private companies have begun operations in passenger and/or freight transport.
CFR's rail freight division became CFR Marfă.