The passenger train of the international communication "Odessa - Chisinau" does not operate since March 2020, and its movement will be resumed not earlier than September.
Oleg Tofilat, Director of the State Enterprise "Railway of Moldova" (Calea Ferată din Moldova), spoke about the timing of the resumption of the movement of the passenger train on the route "Chisinau - Odessa".
According to Tofilat, this train can be resumed no earlier than September 2021. This is due to the unprofitableness of passenger traffic for the Moldovan railways. The head of the railway notes that all passenger traffic in Moldova brings about 100-150 thousand lei a month (about 150-230 thousand UAH), while only one transit of iron ore from Ukraine to Romania - from the stations Razdelnaya and Kuchurgan in the Odessa region, through Moldova to Reni (Odessa region) and further to Galati - about 4.5-5 million lei per month (this is about 6.8-7.5 million UAH).
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Oleg Tofilat also said that those diesel trains that previously went to Odessa are currently in need of serious repairs, the cost of which may not be recouped through ticket sales.
It should be noted that modernized four-car D1M diesel trains have been operating on the Chisinau-Odessa route from the spring of 2018 until the cancellation due to quarantine. There are 5 of them in Moldova, of which two are operational at the moment. One of these trains serves the international route Chisinau - Ungheni - Iasi.
Earlier in the summer, the Chisinau-Odessa flight was served even by a double train consisting of D1M diesel trains - with 8 cars.
