Calea Ferată din Moldova is the sole railway operator in the Republic of Moldova, responsible for passenger and cargo transportation, as well as railway infrastructure maintenance within the country. The total length of the network managed by CFM is 1,232 kilometres (766 mi), of which 1,218 kilometres (757 mi) are 1,520 mm, and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) are 1,435 mm. The entire network is single track and is not electrified. It borders the Romanian railway network, with a 1,520 mm /1,435 mm break-of-gauge in the west, and the Ukrainian one in the east.

Railways with a railway track gauge of 5 ft first appeared in the United Kingdom and the United States. This gauge became commonly known as "Russian gauge", because the government of the Russian Empire chose it in 1843. Former areas and states of the Empire have inherited this standard. However in 1970, Soviet Railways re-defined the gauge as 1,520 mm.