EUR 300 million for rolling stock
This September, the Romanian Railway Reform Authority (ARF), subordinated to the Romanian Ministry of Transport, will launch the tender for the procurement of electric and multiple-units. The declaration was made on 9 July by Romanian Minister of Transport, Răzvan Cuc.
The new rolling stock procurement project amounts to EUR 300 million. At the moment, it is necessary to buy over 100 electric units, trains and diesel units to meet mobility demand and train timetable on the main routes of Romania. After procurement, the new trains will travel between Bucharest and Craiova, Constanta and Brasov, but also on the upgraded western sections of the country.
Currently, CFR Călători’s rolling stock fleet includes 1 532 units: 1 050 cars (950 classic cars, 100 sleeping coaches, couchette cars, restaurant cars and bar-bistro cars), 126 multiple-units (68 Desiro, 8 ADM11, and 50 others), 8 EMUs and 348 locomotives (237 electric locomotives, 111 diesel electric locomotives and hydraulic).
The decision of establishing the Railway Reform Authority was made based on the fact that Romania has to implement, according to the approved General Transport Master Plan, the railway sector reform focused on four directions such as:
- the reconstruction of the rail transport network to focus on an efficient transport network so that the allocation of funds for maintenance and running repairs would be focused on a financially sustainable rail transport network;
- the attribution of public services contracts for railway operation so that passenger transport would take place only based on tenders organized under the law that regulates rail transport operators;
- the introduction of performance indicators to represent the foundation of monitoring the legally concluded public services contracts;
- the introduction of programmes to boost the efficiency of activities in the railway sector, including for CFR SA, that need to be implemented by a specialized structure under the authority of the Ministry of Transport.
The procurement of rolling stock dedicated to railway passenger transport services is also one of the Romanian Railway Reform Authority’s attributions.
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