In 1995, the main means of transportation in Moldova were railroads (1,138 kilometers) and a highway system (12,730 kilometers overall, including 10,973 kilometers of paved surfaces). The major railroad junctions are Chişinău, Bender, Ungheni, Ocnita (Oknitsa, in Russian), Bălţi, and Basarabeasca (Bessarabka, in Russian). Primary external rail links connect the republic's network with Odesa (in Ukraine) on the Black Sea and with the Romanian cities of Iaşi and Galaţi; they also lead northward into Ukraine. Highways link Moldova's main cities and provide the chief means of transportation within the country, but roads are in poor repair, and gasoline shortages make interurban motor transportation difficult. The country's major airport is in Chişinău.
Shipping is possible on the lower Prut and Nistru rivers, but water transportation plays only a modest role in the country's transportation system. In 1990 a total of 317 million tonkilometers of freight were carried on inland waterways as compared with 15,007 million ton-kilometers on railroads and 1,673 million ton-kilometers on roads.
The movement of manufactured goods and of passengers on all means of transportation started to decline in 1989. From 1993 to 1994, for example, the total amount of transported goods fell by 31 percent, passenger traffic decreased by 28 percent, and the number of passengers declined by 24 percent. The main causes for these declines are the high cost of transportation, a lack of fuels, and the poor state of Moldova's transportation infrastructure: approximately 20 percent of Moldova's roads are considered in a critical technical state.
Moldova's has the second worst road quality in the World after Chad in Africa according to the World Economic forum despite lots of international assistance and funding from the EU, World Bank and other Western donors. One of the reasons for this poor statistic is because of the high level corruption within political institutions namely politicians. [1]
Railways:
total:
1,138 km
broad gauge:
1,124 km 1.520-m gauge (2005)
The entire length of the Moldovan railway network is single track and not electrified. Much of the railroad infrastructure is still in a poor state, all of the rolling stock being inherited from the former Soviet Union. Average commercial speed for passenger trains is 35-40 km/h (including stops).
However, substantial investments have been made in building new railway lines since 2003, with the goal of connecting Chişinău to southern Moldova and eventually to the Giurgiuleşti oil terminal. The first such segment was the 40 km Revaca-Căinari line, opened in 2006.
Connections exist to Ukraine at Kuchurhan, Mohilyv-Podil's'ky, Ocniţa. The track between Basarabeasca and Reni crosses the border back and forth. Note that the Kuchurhan crossing as well as the Tighina-Tiraspol-Kuchurhan segment are under the control of the Transnistrian separatist authorities, the circulation of trains on the route depending on the level of political tensions between the separatists and the Government of Moldova.
Between Moldova and Romania there is a break of gauge (Romania employing standard gauge). There is one crossing (including gauge changing equipment) at Ungheni. International passenger trains run to Bucharest, Kiev and Moscow.
Highways:
total:
12,730 km
paved:
10,973 km
unpaved:
1,757 km (2003)
Waterways:
- 424 km (on the Nistru River) (2005). Parts fully under control of the separatist Transnistrian authorities.
- a tiny (400-650 meters) access to the Danube at Giurgiulești.
Pipelines: natural gas 606 km (2006)
Ports and harbors: Moldova has one small oil terminal on the Danube at Giurgileşti (Cahul), compatible with small seagoing vessels. The harbor was opened in 2006 and occupies the entire Moldovan stretch of the river (less than 600 meters).
Merchant marine:
total:
7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,831 GRT/15,003 t DWT DWT uses unsupported parameter (help)
by type:
cargo 7
foreign-owned:
3 (Ukraine 3) (2006)
12 (2006 est.). One airport (Chişinău International Airport) has commercial flights (approximately 20 destinations and 688.000 passengers in 2007).
Airports - with paved runways:
total:
6
over 3,047 m:
1
2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
under 914 m:
1 (2006 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total:
6
914 to 1,523 m:
3
under 914 m:
3 (2006 est.)