An informal service that has been offered for years by Romania's railway transport company CFR could return into the company's official offer.

After years of carrying packages via train conductors or mechanics, which were informally paid for delivering them to the receivers, a pilot project will be introduced at CFR. Basically, the system will stay the same, but the payments will go into the company's coffers, instead of into the train conductor's pockets.

People who want to send packages - usually bags of food - by train will hand them over to the train conductor or the mechanic, who will store them in their cabin, and who will issue a fiscal receipt for the payment.

The pilot will start on April 1, but only on one route, Galati to Bucharest, and will last for 45 days. The results will then be analyzed in order to decide whether to expand it nationwide.

The proposal did not come from within the company CFR, however, but from a Member of the Parliament who was tipped off by parents who have been using this service to send food to their children who live in other cities. The project was approved by the Transport Ministry. It is to be seen how train conductors will implement the new service which would curb their unofficial revenues.

The parcel post service via train is often used by families of students who study in large cities, and who receive food from home. All the receiver has to do is wait for the train's arrival and pick up their parcel from the train conductor.

The same type of service is used by other transport companies which carry passengers via bus across Romania. The prices for these services are usually negotiated by the sender with the drivers or the train conductor. Usually, a RON 5 or RON 10 price is paid to deliver a bag, irrespective of the distance.

editor@romania-insider.com