Freight transport
This situation continued until the year 1998, when "Societatea Naţională a Căilor Ferate Române" (The National Society of Romanian Railways) was split into five independently administered companies : "Compania Națională de Căi Ferate "CFR" SA" (National Railway Company "CFR" – dealing with infrastructure), "CFR Călători" (CFR Passenger Services – the operator of passenger trains), "CFR Marfă" (Freight transport company), "CFR Gevaro" (Services linked with restaurant cars) and "SAAF" (dealing with excess rolling stock to be sold, leased or scrapped). After this, the situation of Romanian railways improved significantly, mainly spurred on by Romania's economic boom after the year 2000, which permitted a considerable amount of government investment in railways and has led CFR to once again become one of the most successful railway operators in the region.