Romania’s chronic lack of investment in its rail system has exposed a key weakness in NATO’s defense, a retired NATO general said.
“If the only way you can move troops is on an inadequate railway, that’s a major strategic vulnerability,” retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. forces in Europe said in an interview with RailFreight. He stressed that deterrence depends on speed: “The Russians must see that we can move faster than they can.”
Amid concerns in the NATO member on the alliance’s eastern flank, the defense ministry has awarded a €2 million contract to the state-run rail freight company CFR Marfă for military transport services, DefenseRomania reported.
The 10.1 million lei contract cited the specialized nature of the service for military use. CFR Marfă, which us under threat of insolvency. The company called the deal a lifeline and emphasized its strategic role in transporting Ukrainian grain, humanitarian aid, and “special military cargo,” Defence Blog reported.
Both Hodges and French General Bertrand Toujouse who echoed similar concerns in 2023 describing logistical hurdles the French Army faced while deploying to Romania. Toujouse have called for a “military Schengen” — an agreement to eliminate legal and diplomatic barriers to movement. But even such a framework, Hodges warned, “can’t fix rusted rails and weak bridges.”
“A single inadequate tunnel can block the transport of an entire air defense system, like a Patriot launcher,” he said.
Military mobility remains a cornerstone of collective defense and that is undermined by crumbling infrastructure and scant investment.
