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Banat Semmeringul, Caras-Severin

The oldest mountain railway in Romania

Where? When? How long?

Semmeringul Bănățean runs daily on the Oravița - Anina railway route.
The price of a return ticket is 29 RON. Children and schoolchildren are free of charge on the basis of their student card or CNP. The ticket office is closed at weekends, but the train runs. For Saturdays and Sundays, tickets should be booked at least 1 day in advance.
Semmering runs only once a day as follows. Train R9695 leaves Oravița at 11:15 and train R9694 leaves Anina at 14:40. Travel time is 2 hours each way.
In Oravița there is a road sign to the train station.

About the Banat Semmering

The Oravița - Anina railway is among the first built in Romania and the oldest mountain railway in the country. It is an exceptional technical achievement realized under the rule of the Austrian Empire. Its name derives from the fact that it was built only a few years after the famous Austrian railway of the same name.

 

History

The Oravița - Anina railway line was built to transport coal from the Anina Mountains to the Danube, from where it was transported by river to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The line was inaugurated on November 15, 1863 with a C-2-t locomotive. The 150th anniversary of the inauguration was celebrated in 2013, and the Oravița railway station has plaques to mark the occasion. Oravița station is the oldest railway station in Romania, its year of birth being 1856.

Oravița Train Station

The Oravița - Anina railway is unique in South-Eastern Europe and is classified as a historical monument.

1. Oravița - Anina route

The train covers the route Oravița - Anina over a distance of 34 km with a difference in level of 340 meters in 2 hours. There are 14 tunnels and 10 viaducts on the route.
The highest viaduct is Jitin at 37 meters.
The longest tunnel is Gârliște and measures 660 meters, reaching the maximum height of the railway line. The total length of the tunnels is 2 km. They were dug with chisels and picks.
This railroad has an incline of 2% as opposed to the 1.4% incline of most rail lines.

viaduct

Gârliște railway station

tunnel

the road is carved into the rock

viaduct

moving train locomotive

the tail of the moving train

viaduct

2. Train

Today the Semmeringul Bănățean runs a train on the Semmeringul Bănățean with a Romanian diesel-electric locomotive, a shunting locomotive and usually 2 unpartitioned class II wagons, specially built for the particularities of this route. The cars are from 1914. The locomotive has a specific characteristic, namely that the first and the last of its 4 axles tilt to the right and to the left respectively, allowing the locomotive to take the small radius curves that are encountered on this route.

Start the train!
The train is heated by steam, with a furnace in the middle of the carriage.

train to Oravița

inside the wagon

the oven in the wagon

coal and wood for heating

inside the wagon

In Anina the locomotive is coupled at the other end of the train

handbrake on the last carriage

Train in Oravița train station

3. The charm of the journey

Riding on the Banat train is a thrilling experience thanks to the archaic and particular features of the line and the train. Riders pose and film, trying to catch the lucky angles in the train's movement to immortalize an image or video.
The conductor is a nice guy who, as well as checking tickets, is passionate about these places, trains, history and shows old clocks, photos and other collectibles.
In Anina you can eat a pizza, which you can order during the one-way trip from the train in an area where there is a phone signal.
It is important not to miss the return train if you don't want to stay in Anina. There is no road running parallel to the entire railroad route, as the train line runs through wilderness areas.

picture of the train on the viaduct

steam locomotive

from the train conductor's collection

decommissioned mining

tunnel painting

Anina

Mine in Anina

Church in Anina

Conclusion

The Oravița - Anina railway line, called Semmeringul Bănățean, can compete with Salva - Vișeu for the most spectacular railway in Romania.
Crossing the tunnels and viaducts with the Banat Semmering is an experience worth living.

All the best!

Steps:

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