The Railway Reform Authority was established through Government Emergency Ordinance no.62 /2016,  as subsequently amended and supplemented, as a public institution with legal personality, financed entirely from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Transport, taking over the activities included in art. 2 par. (1) points d) and e) and their respective tasks within the Ministry of Transport’s own apparatus.

Through Governmental Decision no.98 /02.03.2017 on the organization and functioning of the Railway Reform Authority and for amending and supplementing the Governmental Decision no.21/2015 on the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Transportation, with its subsequent amendments and additions, the organization and functioning of the Authority was approved, with the maximum number of positions being 79.

A.R.F. was set up to carry out a number of activities, including the following:

– establishing and monitoring the implementation of the necessary measures for the efficiency of the public rail passenger transport network on a railway network, as they will result from the railway network efficiency strategy, which will be elaborated in this respect;
– the signing and management of public service contracts with public passenger transport operators;
– establishing and implementing the necessary measures under Regulation (EC) No. (EC) No 1.370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and road and repealing Regulations (EEC) 1.191/69 and no. 1.107/70 of the Council for the award of public service contracts for the public passenger transport service for all railway passenger transport operators under the conditions laid down by law;
– the acquisition of rolling stock, according to the legal provisions in effect,  intended for handing over to the operators, under the conditions of art. 7 for the provision of public passenger transport services on the basis of procedures approved by order of the Minister of Transport, based on transparency and efficiency criteria, ensuring a competitive market in the field of public passenger transport by rail;
– establishing, implementing and monitoring the performance indicators for the provision of public passenger transport services that will be the basis of the award of public service contracts, under the conditions provided d by law;
– elaboration and implementation of programs necessary for streamlining and improving the quality of public services rendered for public transport by rail, including efficiency and restructuring programs for the railway infrastructure manager;
– promoting regulations in the field of subsidising public passenger transport services and allocating these subsidies to the operators of these services in order to ensure an efficient management of the financial resources allocated to the railway transport sector.

The organisational structure of the Authority for Railway Reform is approved by Governmental Decision no. 98/02.03.2017.