Exploring Moldova’s Railways 🇲🇩 | Diesel Locomotives, Freight & Soviet-Era Traction

#MoldovaRailways #RailwayPhotography #DieselLocomotives

A detailed railway photography tour of Moldova 🇲🇩, featuring diesel locomotive operations at Chișinău, Ungheni, and Băsărăbeasca.
ChME3 shunters, 2TE116 cross-border trains, and CFM TE33A diesels are captured in daily service during December 2025.

The journey documents everyday railway activity across the country, highlighting both active mainline operations and stored or withdrawn locomotives, providing a rare snapshot of a network in transition.

Highlights include:

ChME3 diesel shunters seen in regular yard and station duties

2TE116 heavy diesel locomotives of Ukrainian Railways (UZ) operating cross-border passenger services to Ungheni

A TE33A mainline diesel from Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM) on freight and infrastructure duties

The stored and withdrawn locomotive fleet at Chișinău, offering insight into Moldova’s changing traction policies

This collection places strong emphasis on:

Diesel locomotive operations

Freight and passenger movements

Railway infrastructure and depots

The legacy of Soviet-era traction alongside modern rebuilds

Ideal viewing for railway enthusiasts, diesel locomotive fans, transport historians, and photographers, this video captures a rarely documented European railway system away from the main tourist routes.

Featured locations:

Băsărăbeasca • Chișinău • Ungheni • Moldova Railways (CFM)

Railway operators & traction featured:

CFM • Ukrainian Railways (UZ) • ChME3 • 2TE116 • TE33A

Music:
Investigations by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

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Videos and photos by Iain Wright — A Rutland Photographer

Gear we use for filming and photography:
• Nikon Z6iii (professional mirrorless photography)
• DJI Mini 4 Pro drone (4K aerial drone footage)
• Pixel 9 Pro XL (mobile photography and videography)
• Google Pixel 8 Pro (travel and street photography)

Find our full photography collection on Flickr: www.flickr.com/ukbuses

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also available on flickr www.flickr.com/ukbuses


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