Map of Romania's spectacular railway tunnels and viaducts
From Teliu Tunnel, the classic 4,369.5 m record, to Caracău Viaduct, rebuilt three times, and the new Ormeniș and Homorod tunnels that will surpass it: a map of the railway engineering works that pierced the Carpathians — with verified lengths, free photographs and the disputed tallies, out in the open.
4,369.5 mTeliu Tunnel, the historic record
14 + 10Oravița–Anina tunnels and viaducts, in 33.8 km
36 + 25Bumbești–Livezeni tunnels and viaducts, in 31 km
6.916 kmOrmeniș Tunnel, under construction
Caracău Viaduct (264.80 m, 64.4 m), reopened on 14 September 1946
Each dot leads to the object's profile. Large dots are sections — whole lines or works — not portals. The ~ sign means an approximate or source-rounded value.
tunnel in service
viaduct in service
section (line/works)
abandoned / unfinished
under construction
Positions from verified coordinates (Commons, OSM, Eisenbahnatlas). Outline: project data.
Romania's longest railway tunnels
Three rankings, not one: tunnels trains pass through today, tunnels no train ever passed through — or passes no longer — and the two works that will rewrite the top. Mixed together, they would lie.
In service
Teliu Tunnel4.37 kmEisenbahnatlas rounds to 4,369 m
Ormeniș Tunnel6.916 km6.916 km in the CFR documentation (2025)
Homorod Tunnel5.144 km5.144 km in the CFR documentation (2025)
The record, before and after
Teliu measures 4,369.5 m. Ormeniș is designed at 6.916 km, Homorod at 5.144 km — both twin single-track bores, on the Apața–Cața section. If completed at these lengths, Teliu drops to third place.
Teliu (today)4.37 kmthe historic record
Homorod (works)5.144 kmCFR documentation
Ormeniș (works)6.916 kmCFR documentation
Teliu Tunnel: 4,369.5 m for a road that never reached Buzău
The Brașov–Întorsura Buzăului line is some 37 km long and opened in 1931, with the tunnel ready since 1929. It cost a lot, for what remained of an even bigger plan: extending it over the Carpathians to Buzău, to relieve the Brașov–Ploiești line. The extension was never built.
The tunnel stood isolated after the flood took the Budila viaduct on 30 June 2018. In 2026, Regio trains run again between Brașov and Întorsura Buzăului, daily — you can pass through it on an ordinary ticket.
On the same line, three tunnels and a viaduct
Teliu Tunnel's portal in a 1926 photograph
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Teliu Tunnel
tunnelin service
Line
Brașov–Întorsura Buzăului (line 403)
County
Brașov County — Teliu
Length
4.37 km · Eisenbahnatlas rounds to 4,369 m; OSM measures 4,366 m
Years
tunnel finished in 1929; line opened in 1931
Passenger trains
yes — Regio Brașov–Întorsura Buzăului, daily (published 2026 timetables)
Romania's longest railway tunnel in service: 4,369.5 m dug in the 1920s for a Carpathian link that never reached Buzău.
It is 264.80 m long and 64.4 m high, on the Adjud–Siculeni line, and was designed by engineer Elie Radu for the 1897 opening. Today's version has a 100 m central arch span — CFR Călători presents it as Romania's largest concrete arch viaduct.
In 1916 retreating troops blew it up; it was rebuilt. In 1944 it was destroyed again; after the war it was rebuilt in reinforced concrete and reopened on 14 September 1946. The railway history calls it the largest engineering work executed at CFR after the Cernavodă bridge.
The same valley, six frames: 1903, 1916, works, 1945, 1946, today
1903 — the new viaduct, still masonry and steel
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Oravița–Anina: 14 tunnels and 10 viaducts in 33.8 km
It was built between 1861 and 1863, with Austrian capital (StEG), and inaugurated on 15 December 1863. CFR presents it as the first mountain railway in south-eastern Europe; locals call it the Banat Semmering, after the 1845–1854 Austrian line it resembles. It climbs 339–340 m in 33.8 km (other measurements give 33.4 km), with 21‰ gradients and curves of 104 m minimum radius.
It was dug with chisel and pickaxe — dynamite hadn't been invented yet — and cost 5 million guilders. The tunnels total 2,084 m per CFR (2,094 m by adding the inventory lengths), the viaducts 843 m. At Anina the train cannot enter the station directly: it first enters a tunnel, shunts onto a higher track, and only then pulls up to the platform.
The count, out in the open
CFR gives 14 tunnels and 10 viaducts. The numbered inventory confirms the 14 tunnels, in CFR inventory number order. For viaducts, Wikipedia gives 9 instead of 10 — probably a question of what gets counted, so the page keeps the CFR figure and flags the difference.
Works ran from 1924 to 1948, with a preservation pause between 1931 and 1937: Bumbești–Meri (8 km) opened on 4 November 1941, Meri–Livezeni (23 km) on 31 October 1948, with almost 28,000 young volunteers on site. Electrification came in 1972–1974. Today it is an electrified trunk line, with passenger trains.
Engineering structures per kilometre
Bumbești–Livezeni1.9736+25 structures / 31 km
Oravița–Anina0.7114+10 structures / 33.8 km
Tunnels + viaducts relative to line length, per CFR data.
Why we don't know exactly how many tunnels there are
CFR Călători publishes an exact inventory: 21 bridges, 59 culverts, 25 viaducts and 36 tunnels. An alternative count gives 39 tunnels and 27 viaducts, with no published methodology. The difference is probably about counting convention — what counts as a short gallery, a bridge or a viaduct — so the page keeps the CFR tally and shows the other one alongside, not instead.
The route, from Livezeni to Bumbești
Livezeni·Bumbești
From the CFR inventory (numbers known from the list): 1 Pleșa2 Leurzeaua31 Murga Mică32 Murga Mare33 Zaiceni35 Polatiște37 Strâmbuța581112151926272829
Schematic, not to scale. The lowest-numbered tunnel is towards Livezeni.
Profile with no verified photograph — section point (gorge midpoint), not an object.
Bumbești–Livezeni (Jiu Gorge)
sectionin service
Line
Filiași–Simeria (line 202)
County
Gorj/Hunedoara counties — Jiu Gorge
Length
31 km · 31 km Bumbești–Livezeni; works 1924–1948
Years
Bumbești–Meri (8 km) 4 November 1941; Meri–Livezeni (23 km) 31 October 1948; electrification 1972–1974
Passenger trains
yes — electrified Filiași–Simeria trunk line (2026 timetables)
36 tunnels and 25 viaducts in 31 km — or 39 and 27, in an alternative count with no published methodology. One of the country's densest railways, with a tally its sources disagree on.
Location: section point (gorge midpoint), not an object.
Eight short stories, each with its own reason: the post-war Maramureș, the Mestecăniș doubling, the trunk-line newcomers, the Galați pair and the two structures on Salva–Vișeu.
Olt Valley: old tunnels, new tunnels, and one taken by water
On Piatra-Olt–Podul Olt, the old line (~1900–1901) left three tunnels: Cârligu Mare (613 m), Mănăstirea Turnu (592 m, destroyed) and Cârligu Mic (349 m per the list, 451 m per the photograph — flooded today). The 1978–1982 realignment replaced them with new bores: Cârligu Mic 1 and 2 (617 and 716 m), Cârligu Mare 1 and 2 (1,117 and 1,211 m). Further north, on the same valley, Cozia 1 and 2 (730 and 771 m, 1979).
The old Cârligu Mic Tunnel, flooded today
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Cârligu Mic Tunnel (old)
tunneldisused
Line
Piatra-Olt–Podul Olt, old route (line 201)
County
Vâlcea County — Cârligu Mic
Length
~349 m · 349 m in the specialist list, 451 m per the Commons page (1901–1978); probably with the flooded areas
Years
1901–1978; replaced by the new bores, now flooded
Passenger trains
no — flooded, replaced by the new tunnels
The tunnel the Olt took back: taken out of service in 1978 and flooded, at 349 m per the list (451 per the photograph's page).
Warning: abandoned tunnels are dangerous — collapses, water, gases, total darkness. This page does not encourage going inside them; photographs are taken from portals or archives.
Vâlcele–Bujoreni: the line that never had a train
Designed to link Pitești to Râmnicu Vâlcea over the hills, the line remained unfinished in 1989. Left in the fields: a 2,240 m tunnel (Gibei), a 1,910 m one (Ploștina) and two viaducts (Topolog, Sâmnic) — finished works for trains that never came.
Hârlău Tunnel (899 m, 1998) was finished for the Hârlău–Botoșani link, which was never built. A tunnel without a line remains — contemporary with Daneș, but unused.
On Gorj coal, a line was started that never got anywhere: Seciuri (716 m), Roșia (128 m) and Burlani (61 m) carry SF 1989–1990 in the list — decommissioned before ever entering service. Dobra (550 m) was left with only 200 m dug. Groși (760 m) and Cerna (960 m) complete the landscape of the same generation of halted works.
The next record: Ormeniș and Homorod
On the Apața–Cața section (28.2 km) of the modernised Brașov–Sighișoara trunk line, two tunnel systems are being dug, each with two single-track bores: Ormeniș (6.916 km) and Homorod (5.144 km) — figures from the 2025 CFR documentation. The 2026 works reports round them to ~7.1 and ~5.2 km; the page keeps the documentation figures and notes the roundings.
Profile with no verified photograph — section point (commune centre), NOT the portal — portals are unpublished.
Works on Apața–Cața started on 3 November 2020; in July 2026 CFR reported 59.99% physical progress and completion estimated in February 2028. Besides the tunnels: 6.11 km of rehabilitated line, 10.03 km of new line, 6 single-track viaducts, 17 culverts, the Ormeniș and Mateiaș halts. Ormeniș has 13 cross-passages (601 m), Homorod 10 (417 m). Last checked: September 2026.
What they replace
The old line crosses the hills through 1873–1942 tunnels: Beia 1 and 2 (644 and 664 m), Monor (496 m), Big Tunnel–Gledin (Tunelul Mare–Gledin, 930 m), Sălard (382 m), Cornești (328 m, 2018). All fall into the shadow of the two new bores — hence the record jump.
Questions
What is the longest railway tunnel in Romania?
Today: Teliu, at 4,369.5 m, on the Brașov–Întorsura Buzăului line — and you can pass through it on an ordinary Regio. Next: Ormeniș (6.916 km) and Homorod (5.144 km), both under construction on Brașov–Sighișoara. Izvor Tunnel (5,918 m) doesn't count: only ~1,800 m were dug before works were abandoned in 1913.
How many tunnels and viaducts does Oravița–Anina have?
CFR gives 14 tunnels (2,084 m in total) and 10 viaducts (843 m) over 33.8 km. The numbered inventory confirms the 14 tunnels; for viaducts, Wikipedia gives 9 — the page keeps the CFR figure and flags the difference.
How many tunnels are there on Bumbești–Livezeni?
CFR publishes 36 tunnels and 25 viaducts over 31 km, in an exact inventory (21 bridges, 59 culverts). An alternative count gives 39 and 27, with no published methodology. The difference is probably about counting convention.
Which tunnels can I pass through by train today?
All those marked “in service” on the map — from Teliu and Caracău to Oravița–Anina and the Jiu Gorge. The exceptions are marked just as visibly: the Ormeniș/Homorod works and the ghost tunnels, through which no train ever passed, or passes no longer.
What is special about Leurzeaua Tunnel?
Because it isn't straight: CFR describes it as the country's only S-shaped railway tunnel. It is 217.5 m long and tunnel no. 2 in the Jiu Gorge.
Can I visit the abandoned tunnels?
The portals — yes, carefully, from public roads. The interiors — no: collapses, water, gases, total darkness. The page does not encourage going inside and publishes no underground access guidance.
Why was the Vâlcele–Bujoreni line never finished?
It remained unfinished in 1989, although the Gibei (2,240 m) and Ploștina (1,910 m) tunnels were dug, and the Topolog and Sâmnic viaducts built. It is a large unfinished railway works — and among the most photogenic.
Method
The page's lengths come from sources that check each other: the specialist list (opfer.ro), OpenStreetMap geometry and Eisenbahnatlas, alongside CFR data where it exists. Where they differ by small percentages, the page shows the range.
Dots marked with ~ are approximations, source roundings or geometry lengths. Section points (whole lines, works) are not portals and are labelled as such.
Photographs are exclusively reusable: Wikimedia Commons (public domain, CC BY, CC BY-SA) with author, licence and a link to the file page. No press photography, no unclearly licensed images.
The 2026 status (in service / disused / unfinished / under construction) and passenger service are verified in timetables and statements published in September 2026.
Mistakes get corrected: write to the site's contact page with the source, and the page notes the change in the history below.
Photographs: Wikimedia Commons (authors and licences on each image) · Map: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · Data: CFR SA, CFR Călători, the opfer.ro specialist list · Cover image (OG): detail from Szabi237's photograph of Caracău Viaduct (CC BY 3.0) · Photographs were resized and converted to WebP; the cover is cropped from a photograph
History
15 September 2026 — first publication: 32 profiles, two sections, two works, seven questions.
