MOLDOVAN Railways (CFM) has made 16 locomotives available for sale in the latest attempt to tackle a deepening financial crisis which forced the railway to furlough around 600 employees earlier this year.
Tender documents show that 14 type 3TE10M and two 2TE10L locomotives have been put up for auction, with all equipment available as separate lots.
The announcement has triggered a political backlash. Speaking in Parliament in early May, Renato Usatii, head of the Our Party parliamentary faction, said that over the past two decades CFM had sold around 13,000 wagons, including some of the best assets in its fleet. He warned that previous asset sales had failed to improve the company’s financial position and questioned why the latest move would produce different results.
CFM is continuing to operate at a loss, with debts reaching Lei 450m ($US 26m) in 2025. Local media suggest the locomotive sell-off is unlikely to significantly improve the company’s finances, although it may help keep operations running in the short term.
The poor financial health of the national railway is preventing it from meeting basic obligations, including the payment of wages. However, the situation has reportedly improved slightly in recent months, with infrastructure minister, Vladimir Bolea, announcing in early May that CFM had finally paid outstanding wages. Furloughed staff returned to work, and CFM CEO, Sergei Kolesnik, confirmed that some had received their salary for April.
However, the overall situation is still considered bleak. According to local media reports, CFM has introduced a series of measures to avoid immediate bankruptcy, including reducing staffing levels to a minimum, closing half of its stations and placing workers on partial furlough, receiving 55% of their salary. As a result, the actual take-home pay of many CFM employees reportedly fell below the country’s statutory minimum wage.
