The waiting time at the borders with Bulgaria and Hungary has significantly decreased, reports the newspaper “Adeverul“ in its article on the topic “Schengen after six months: What has changed in transport in Romania“. The publication makes it clear that previously trucks had daily delays of 8-10 hours, BTA reported.
The publication also cites data from the National Union of Road Transporters of Romania, according to which the losses caused by waiting time at the internal borders of the EU with Bulgaria and Hungary between 2012 and 2023 are estimated at 19 billion euros. According to “Adeverul” Romanian carriers often waited for 20-30 hours, and sometimes three days, especially at the border with Bulgaria.
“This is one of the most visible changes since Romania joined Schengen, which removed a number of obstacles in international road transport“, the publication commented. It noted that the elimination of routine physical checks at border crossings has led to a smoother freight flow and the elimination of long stops.
“Now carriers can choose shorter and more direct routes through Schengen countries, without having to worry about waiting times at borders. This avoids bypassing some congested border crossings (e.g. Nadlac on the Romanian-Hungarian border), which reduces fuel consumption and carbon footprint“, commented “Adeverul“.
At the same time, the attractiveness of routes through Romania is increasing, as the country becomes part of the Schengen transit routes, which encourages foreign operators to pass through the country for east-west connections. In this way, important logistics corridors are developing, such as the pan-European Corridor IX. And the cities in western Romania - Arad, Oradea, Timisoara - are gaining strategic importance for the international flow of goods due to their proximity to Hungary and other Schengen routes.
Logistics park developers are interested in expanding storage capacities near the main road and rail corridors. The western part of the country could become host to new terminals for cross-docking and cargo consolidation, already benefiting from easy access to Schengen routes and to markets in Germany, Italy or Austria, the publication points out.
Automotive, electronic or consumer companies are already looking for alternatives to relocate production to Central and Eastern Europe.
The Port of Constanta also has the chance to become a key point in maritime supply networks, connecting flows to Central and Western Europe via road and rail transport, the newspaper „Adeverul“ also writes in its material.