On Monday, 19 October 2026, Moldovan Railway moved 1,125 tonnes of scrap metal from Romania through Ungheni–Cristești Jijia. The train had 26 broad-gauge wagons, 1,520 mm, the company said. PRO TV Chișinău repeated the same figures from the CFM statement.

CFM says that, after several years off the rails, it is putting scrap metal back on the network and wants to diversify freight between Moldova and Romania. That is this cargo class coming back, not all freight traffic.

Asked by Teleradio-Moldova, CFM staff said the destination is Rîbnița, on the left bank of the Nistru, at the Moldovan Metallurgical Plant. PRO TV did not publish the destination. The statements do not confirm that the load has already been unloaded at the mill.

The mill uses scrap as feedstock. Radio Moldova notes that energy crises in recent years hit its work and that, in July 2026, the plant partly resumed after a stoppage. That summer restart is not this train.

The mill’s environmental permit is valid, Radio Moldova says, until 20 October 2026. On 15 October, Environment Minister Gheorghe Hajder said a new permit had not been issued and that the Environmental Agency was still examining the application. At the time of the reports, the authorities had not said whether a new document exists.

Hajder tied any issue of a permit to environmental rules and to the ability to inspect the plant. We do not treat the application as granted, and we do not treat the old permit as extended by default.

The Ungheni crossing is on the Prut, a long way from Rîbnița. Monday’s train is a CFM consignment, not a new political deal on the Transnistrian region.

Image: Ungheni railway station, 4 July 2026, Vladikh, CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The station at the border crossing, not the 19 October scrap train.

Sources consulted: Importurile de fier vechi pe calea ferată au fost reluate după mai mulți ani. Prima încărcătură are ca destinație Râbnița — Radio Moldova; CFM a reluat transportul de fier vechi pe calea ferată, după mai mulți ani de pauză — PRO TV Chișinău; CFM a reluat importul de fier vechi pe calea ferată, după mai mulți ani de întrerupere — MOLDPRES.