It was the first railway line built in the entire Ottoman Empire (Dobrogea being under ottoman occupation in this period).
The communication line Constanța Port – Cernavodă Port with a length of 65, 3 km was initiated on the date of the 4th of October 1860 and was built with English resources, following the English norms. It was the first railway line built in the entire Ottoman Empire (Dobrogea being under ottoman occupation in this period).
The line left from the Constanța Port, cross tied the margin of the city and continued in zigzag until the railway station built at the west part of the city. Then it continued to west, passing from Murfatlar and Medgidia, by the Carasu Valley, and arrived at Cernavodă, after 64, 6 kilometers.
It was a remarkable achievement from a technical point of view. The track had an ascent of 30 degrees, at the entry in the port. Furthermore, there were built annexed lines, which arrived until the point of today’s Mamaia resort.
On the 1st of September 1857, Sir John Trevor Barklay, an English investor, acting in the capacity of representative of London group formed by Thomas Wilson, Cunard, Price, Paquet, Lewis and Newall signed an agreement with the Turkish government, acquiring the permission of building a communication line between Constanța and Cernavodă, of exploiting the ports and the railway stations and of managing the import – export activities.
The document had two versions, one in French and one in Turkish, and became valid thanks to a document signed by the Ottoman sultan Abdul Medjid (1839 – 1861).
The document stated the conditions regarding the execution of the works and the means of using the communication line Kustandje Boghas Keni railway.
The concession had duration of 99 years, starting with the date at which the communication line was given for exploitation.
The English part appeared in the document with the name “Campagnie du chemin de fer Imperial Ottoman du Danbe et de la Mer Noire”, which was then officially named “Danube and Black Sea Railway Kustendje Harbour Company Limited” (DBSR).
The initials appeared on the trains, as well as on the postal stamps issued on this occasion.
