The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has taken the Ministry of Transport to court for refusing to publicly disclose the arguments behind the 47% increase in the amounts received by the management of the National Railway Company CFR SA. Although the company is facing financial losses and an outdated infrastructure, CFR chiefs are "rewarded" by the Transport Ministry with significant salary increases, from 2,081,339 lei in 2024 to 3,055,452 lei in 2025.
FACIAS has been asking the Ministry of Transport since March, as part of the "Turn off the Waste Tap!" campaign, for the criteria, arguments and possible managerial assessments that were the basis for this decision, but the ministry has not responded. As a result of its failure to comply with the legal obligation to reply within the deadline set by law, FACIAS has brought the case before the Bucharest Tribunal to order the ministry to publish the requested information.
According to data provided by CFR SA at the request of FACIAS, between 2022 and 2024, the company did not make a profit and maintenance work covered only 50% of what was needed. In the meantime, the rail network remains in a precarious state, and travelers bear the daily consequences of institutional incompetence.
Statistics show that in 2024 alone, passenger trains experienced delays totaling no less than 12 years and 241 days. At the same time, passenger rail has seen a 4% drop, and freight has fallen even more dramatically, by 11%.
At a time of economic uncertainty and an acute crisis of confidence in public institutions, this form of administrative opacity is an abuse of all citizens.
The "Turn off the Waste Tap!" campaign run by FACIAS aims to draw attention to the colossal waste of public funds and to hold the authorities accountable for the efficient and transparent management of public money.