# What was the first railway in Romania? Two answers appear in the press, 1854 and 1869, and both are called “the first”. Both are right, because “first” can mean three different things. 1854 First line on the territory of present-day Romania Oravița–Baziaș 20 August 1854 The line was first used only for coal, 62.5 km long, between Oravița and the Danube port of Baziaș. At the time the Banat belonged to the Austrian Empire. 1854 or 1869? Both are right, once you say what you are measuring. The first line on today’s map of Romania opened 15 years before Bucharest–Giurgiu. The Banat was then in the Austrian Empire. ## Why are there two answers to “the first railway in Romania”? Because “Romania” can mean the country of today or the state of the time. In 1854 the Banat was in the Austrian Empire, and in Wallachia and Moldavia the first train ran only in 1869. [HotNews](https://hotnews.ro/se-mplinesc-150-de-ani-de-la-deschiderea-primei-cai-ferate-din-principatele-romne-n-prezent-calatoria-bucuresti-giurgiu-este-lunga-pentru-ca-podul-de-la-gradistea-ramne-ne-292856) The single question hides three questions: - 1854 ### First line on today’s territory Oravița–Baziaș, opened on 20 August 1854. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - 1856 ### First passenger line, on the same territory The same Oravița–Baziaș, from 1 November 1856. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - 1869 ### First line of the Romanian state of the time Bucharest–Giurgiu, in 1869. The Romania of the time was the state of the United Principalities. AGIR notes that the older lines lay in Romanian provinces that were then outside the national borders, such as the Banat, part of the Austrian Empire. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) When you read “the first railway in Romania”, ask: today’s Romania or the one of the time? [Mediafax](https://www.mediafax.ro/economic/romania-inchide-timp-de-opt-luni-legatura-feroviara-cu-bulgaria-pentru-modernizarea-liniei-bucuresti-giurgiu-arcada-company-si-alstom-lucreaza-la-electrificarea-conexiunii-cu-bulgaria-pre-23802944) wrote that Bucharest–Giurgiu is “the first railway built in Romania”. For the state of the time, that is correct. For today’s territory, the first remains Oravița–Baziaș. ## What was the first railway on the territory of present-day Romania? Oravița–Baziaș, in the Banat. Here the line is drawn on today’s map, along the route preserved in OpenStreetMap. It shows what no list says: a long stretch of it now runs through Serbia. 0 km travelled 0 of which in Serbia Now: Romania The route is the one preserved in OpenStreetMap, and the stops are placed at the point of the track nearest to each village. 20 August 1854 ### The Oravița–Baziaș line opens It is 62.5 km long and was used at first only for coal, towards the Danube port of Baziaș. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) Thirteen Engerth locomotives, built in Vienna, were brought for it. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) Building took from 1846 to 1854. [Oravița Town Hall](https://oravita.ro/gara-oravita/) The Banat was then a province of the Austrian Empire. 1847 ### Oravița station, ready seven years before the first train The station was finished in 1847, before the first run on the line. CFR Călători calls it the first station on the present territory of Romania. [CFR Călători](https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/calea-ferata-oravita-anina-160-ani-de-la-inaugurare/) Oravița Town Hall notes it may have been ready as early as 1846. [Oravița Town Hall](https://oravita.ro/gara-oravita/) Oravița station today. Photo: Ioan Bodean, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. km 0–28 ### Through the villages of today’s Banat The line passes Răcășdia, Vrăniuț, Berliște, Milcoveni and Iam. Up to here every stop is in today’s Romania. km 28 ### Today’s border cuts the line 28 km from Oravița, between Iam and Iasenova, the line leaves today’s Romania. For the next 28 km the line runs through Serbia: past Iasenova (Jasenovo), Biserica Albă (Bela Crkva) and Vracevgai (Vračev Gaj). AGIR also notes that Iasenova was a station on the Baziaș–Oravița line. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) At the time the Banat was part of the Austrian Empire. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) km 56 ### Back in Romania, at the Danube At Socol the line enters today’s Romania again and, after another 5 km, reaches Baziaș, the Danube port. Baziaș station on a postcard from Austro-Hungarian times, so later than the 1854 line. Photo: Sludge G, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. On the map ### On the map: 28 km in Romania, 28 in Serbia, 5 in Romania On the preserved route the line measures 61 km; CFR gives 62.5. Nearly half the line, 28 km, now lies in Serbia. The definition “on today’s territory” still stands, because both ends, Oravița and Baziaș, are in Romania. But the first line here is not wholly in today’s Romania. Romanian Wikipedia also says that on the Iam–Baziaș stretch the line ran through today’s Serbia. [Wikipedia (RO)](https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calea_ferat%C4%83_Oravi%C8%9Ba%E2%80%93Baziaș) 1 November 1856 ### Two years later, the first passengers After technical improvements, passenger trains begin to run on the line. The first passenger train had three carriages. [Oravița Town Hall](https://oravita.ro/gara-oravita/) [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) ## What was Bucharest–Giurgiu, the line most often called “the first”? It was the first line built in the Romanian state of the time, and it linked Filaret station in Bucharest with Giurgiu on the Danube. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) [AGIR, 2017](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) Departs 10:45 Arrives after 1 h 30 min The route is today’s, from OpenStreetMap, and measures 64 km; AGIR (2017) gives 70 km for the line authorised in 1865. In 1869 the line started at Filaret, whose railway no longer exists. ### Two dates, one year 26 August 1869 Carol I leaves Filaret station for Giurgiu, on a journey AGIR calls “the first on the Bucharest–Giurgiu line”. At Giurgiu he boards a steamer for his native lands: he had promised not to leave the country until he could do so by rail. CFR gives this day as the opening to traffic. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) 19 October 1869 The official inauguration, on a Sunday, by the old calendar; 31 October by today’s. The train leaves at 10:45 and arrives an hour and a half later, with a stop at Comana. The second train, the locomotive Dunărea, is driven by Nicolae Tănase, regarded as the first Romanian locomotive driver. The line also opens to passengers. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) [AGIR, 2017](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) In 1865 the concession went to a British consortium made up of John Trevor Barkley and John Staniforth. [AGIR, 2017](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) Filaret station in a photograph dated 1875 on Wikimedia Commons. Author unknown, public domain. Filaret station, opened with the line, was Bucharest’s first station and the first in the United Principalities. [AGIR, 2017](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) In 1870 the line was extended to Smârda. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) The line is now being modernised. Economedia reported on 13 August 2026 that traffic is due to reopen fully in September 2028. [Economedia](https://economedia.ro/video-modernizarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata-bucuresti-progresu-giurgiu-nord-a-ajuns-la-12-circulatia-se-va-redeschide-in-2028.html) ## Timeline: from the 1847 station to Bucharest–Giurgiu - Oravița–Baziaș - Bucharest–Giurgiu - Other lines, in between - 1846 Building of the Oravița–Baziaș line begins. [Oravița Town Hall](https://oravita.ro/gara-oravita/) - 1847 Oravița station is finished, the first on the present territory of Romania. [CFR Călători](https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/calea-ferata-oravita-anina-160-ani-de-la-inaugurare/) - 20 August 1854 Oravița–Baziaș opens, 62.5 km, for coal. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - 1 November 1856 First passengers on Oravița–Baziaș. [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - 1857–1860 Timișoara–Szeged (1857), Timișoara–Iasenova (1858) and Cernavodă–Constanța (4 October 1860, in Ottoman Dobruja) open. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) - 15 December 1863 Oravița–Anina opens for coal, and from 1869 for passengers. It is the first mountain railway in south-eastern Europe. [CFR Călători](https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/calea-ferata-oravita-anina-160-ani-de-la-inaugurare/) - 26 August 1869 Carol I travels on Bucharest–Giurgiu; CFR gives the day as the opening to traffic. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) [CFR](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - 19 / 31 October 1869 Official inauguration of the line and of Filaret station. [AGIR, 2017](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) AGIR counts Bucharest–Giurgiu as the eleventh line built on the present territory of Romania. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) ## Frequently asked questions ### Why do some sources say 1854 and others 1869? Because “in Romania” can mean today’s territory or the state of the time. Oravița–Baziaș (1854) is the first line on the present territory of Romania, according to CFR; the Banat was then in the Austrian Empire. Bucharest–Giurgiu (1869) is the first line built in the Romanian state of the time. ### What was the first railway station in Romania? The first station on today’s territory is Oravița, finished in 1847, seven years before the line opened. The first station in the United Principalities was Filaret, in Bucharest, opened on 19/31 October 1869. ### When did the first passengers travel? On Oravița–Baziaș from 1 November 1856, in a train of three carriages. On Bucharest–Giurgiu, Carol I travelled on 26 August 1869 and, according to AGIR, passenger transport began on 19 October 1869 (31 October by today’s calendar). ### When did trains appear in Romania? On today’s territory in 1854, at Oravița, on the coal line to Baziaș. In the Romanian state of the time, in 1869, at Bucharest. ### Does the Oravița–Baziaș line still exist? CFR Călători writes that the line is still functional only between Oravița and Iam. In 2010 AGIR gave 27 km for that stretch and noted that between Iam and Baziaș the railway no longer existed. ### What is happening to Bucharest–Giurgiu now? The line is being modernised. Traffic is due to resume fully in September 2028, according to Economedia (13 August 2026). ## Sources The core dates come from CFR, the Oravița Town Hall and AGIR. Every claim on the page has its source indicated. - [CFR Infrastructură, “Pages of railway history”](https://cfr.ro/file-de-istorie-feroviara/) - [Oravița Town Hall, “Oravița station”](https://oravita.ro/gara-oravita/) - [CFR Călători, “The Oravița–Anina railway, 160 years”](https://www.cfrcalatori.ro/calea-ferata-oravita-anina-160-ani-de-la-inaugurare/) - [Romanian Wikipedia, “Calea ferată Oravița–Baziaș”](https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calea_ferat%C4%83_Oravi%C8%9Ba%E2%80%93Baziaș) - [AGIR, “140 years since the opening of the Bucharest–Giurgiu line” (2010)](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) - [AGIR, “Bucharest North station at 145” (2017)](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-20-2017/pagini-de-istorie-gara-de-nord-din-bucuresti-la-145-de-ani_5809.html) - [HotNews, 31 October 2019](https://hotnews.ro/se-mplinesc-150-de-ani-de-la-deschiderea-primei-cai-ferate-din-principatele-romne-n-prezent-calatoria-bucuresti-giurgiu-este-lunga-pentru-ca-podul-de-la-gradistea-ramne-ne-292856) - [Adevărul, “Oravița, the first station built in Romania”](https://adevarul.ro/stiri-locale/resita/oravita-prima-gara-construita-in-romania-rezista-2511269.html) - [Mediafax, 7 September 2026](https://www.mediafax.ro/economic/romania-inchide-timp-de-opt-luni-legatura-feroviara-cu-bulgaria-pentru-modernizarea-liniei-bucuresti-giurgiu-arcada-company-si-alstom-lucreaza-la-electrificarea-conexiunii-cu-bulgaria-pre-23802944) - [Economedia, 13 August 2026](https://economedia.ro/video-modernizarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata-bucuresti-progresu-giurgiu-nord-a-ajuns-la-12-circulatia-se-va-redeschide-in-2028.html) ### How we measured We measured the kilometres in Romania and in Serbia along the line’s route, followed through the traces it left on the OpenStreetMap map, against the state border on the same map. The line is mostly disused or abandoned. The kilometres are rounded, and the route on the map may differ slightly from the 1854 one. The map data is from 2 October 2026. Cross-check: from Oravița to Iam the map gives 27 km, as AGIR does. [AGIR, 2010](https://www.agir.ro/univers-ingineresc/numar-3-2010/140-de-ani-de-la-inaugurarea-liniei-de-cale-ferata--bucuresti-%E2%80%93-giurgiu_2767.html) For Oravița–Baziaș CFR gives 62.5 km; on the map, 61 km. For 1854 and 1856 we use the CFR dates, with no calendar stated; Oravița Town Hall writes them as double dates, 20/30 August and 1/11 November. For 1869 AGIR notes 19/31 October: 19 in the old calendar, 31 in today’s; Romania moved to the new calendar only in April 1919. [HotNews](https://hotnews.ro/se-mplinesc-150-de-ani-de-la-deschiderea-primei-cai-ferate-din-principatele-romne-n-prezent-calatoria-bucuresti-giurgiu-este-lunga-pentru-ca-podul-de-la-gradistea-ramne-ne-292856) The sources do not say which calendar the 26 August date uses. ### Maps and images - Routes and border: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. - Historical regions: the map of the “Atlas of Romanian history” project, drawn from the 1930 counties; rivers: Natural Earth, public domain. - Photographs: Wikimedia Commons, with authors and licences in the captions. ### Further along the tracks - [Railway tunnels and viaducts in Romania, including Oravița–Anina](https://mariuscomper.uk/tuneluri-feroviare/) - [The Strousberg affair: the railway scandal of the 1870s](https://mariuscomper.uk/afacerea-strousberg/) - [The Orient Express through Romania, 1883](https://mariuscomper.uk/orient-express/) https://mariuscomper.uk/prima-cale-ferata-romania/en/