In 1844, Governor-General of Novorossiya and Bessarabia Count Mikhail Vorontsov has developed a project of a railway, connecting Odesa and Parcani village by the Dniester.

The line, connecting Bessarabia to the Black Sea and the railway network of Ukraine and Russia became the basis for future development.

May 6] 1872 a Russian diplomat agent, Ivan Alekseevich Zinov'ev and the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gheorghe Costaforu signed a rail junction convention, which was ratified on January 21 [O.S.

After World War II Moldova became part of the Soviet Union and the rail network reverted to broad gauge.

In 2005, the Revaca-Căinari railway was reconstructed (it was destroyed in 1944) to bypass Transnistrian controlled Bender and reconnect the southern lines with the main network.

[3] An investment of EUR 71 million was agreed in 2023 for the reconstruction of the Balti-Valcinet-Ungheni and Chisinau-Cainari railway sections, part of the funding coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU, with Moldovan railways putting in EUR 28 million, the aim being to facilitate grain traffic heading to the port of Constanta from Ukraine.

Their use in Moldova was motivated by steep gradients on some portions of the rail network (especially, in the regions with hilly terrains), where additional power was needed to pull heavy freight trains.

However, in 2012 it underwent complete modernization (as D1M) at the Electroputere VFU factory in Romania, with most of the parts changed, including the installation of a new engine by Volvo.

The first unit became the subject of significant controversy, as it was put into service before the renovation process was completed, in particular, the old gearbox was not changed, which resulted in the malfunctioning of the train.

Notably, CFM chief executive Miron Gagauz, who held the post of the Minister of Transportation, was one of the few members of the Government who did not speak the official language of the country.

International passenger trains run to Bucharest, Iași, Kyiv, Odesa and used to operate to Saint Petersburg, and Moscow.