CFR Călători returned to profit in 2024, but mostly from subsidies, not tickets
After two years of losses of over 170 million lei, the passenger rail company reported a profit in 2024. The official report shows, however, that the recovery comes mainly from higher subsidies and from cancelling unprofitable services.
The ROptimizaRE editorial team · 5 min read · updated 15 October 2026
In short
- CFR Călători lost 176.35 million lei in 2022 and 210.84 million lei in 2023, followed by a profit of 29.33 million lei in 2024[1]
- The profit of 29.33 million lei is small compared with a turnover of 3.49 billion lei, a sign that the recovery was sustained mainly by higher state subsidies[1]
- Part of the saving came from suspending some unprofitable services, especially at weekends[1]
- The company has 10,597 employees (December 2024) and is wholly owned by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure[1]
From big losses to a small profit
CFR Călători, the state company that runs passenger rail transport in Romania, returned to profit in 2024 after two consecutive years of large losses. The 2024 AMEPIP annual report details the evolution:[1]
| Indicator | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover (million lei) | 2,431.56 | 2,817.93 | 3,486.82 |
| Net result (million lei) | -176.35 | -210.84 | 29.33 |
| ROE | -20.43% | -32.51% | 4.33% |
| ROA | -6.98% | -8.43% | 1.08% |
Net profit, 2024
29.3m lei
Year 2024 · source[1]
Under 1% of the turnover of 3.49 billion lei: a very thin margin for a “recovery”.
Where the profit actually comes from
The AMEPIP report is explicit about the limits of this “recovery”: CFR Călători depends heavily on subsidies granted by the Government to ensure the public transport service, and a profit of only 29.33 million lei, compared with a turnover of 3.49 billion, suggests the recovery was sustained mainly by higher subsidies, not by a major operational improvement[1].
Part of the profit also comes from cutting costs: the company's management confirmed the suspension of some unprofitable services, especially at weekends, which reduced overtime costs but directly affected the quality of the services offered to passengers[1].
Sources
Primary official sources; where we use the press (only when the official document is not public) we mark it. The links lead to the original document or to the report cited (titles are translated; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated).
- [1]
Agency for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Enterprises' Performance (AMEPIP) — Annual report on the activity of public enterprises for 2024 (in Romanian) (sections 1.2.1 (aggregate results of central/local public enterprises) and 2.1.2 (financial indicators of central public enterprises))
Published 1 October 2025 · Accessed 15 October 2026 · the original document(opens in a new tab)
This is a translation of the Romanian article, which prevails. Source titles are translated for convenience; the documents themselves are in Romanian unless stated.