“Our report highlights that the potential for high-speed rail (HSR) development in Romania is substantial, due to its capacity to shift passenger traffic from air and road to rail, while also significantly boosting the country’s economy. We analysed several scenarios and concluded that creating lines to support speeds of 200–250 km/h is feasible in Romania,” said Mihai Frumosu, Senior Transport Expert at the European Investment Bank (EIB), during Railway Days 2025. The event is taking place on 14–15 October in Bucharest and is organised by Club Feroviar.
The study builds on the European Masterplan for high-speed rail development, which includes the creation of an HSR corridor between Constanța – Bucharest – the Hungarian border, and examines the project from technical, financial, and economic perspectives.
“We explored options for achieving speeds of 250–300 km/h on already modernised lines, without the need for constructing entirely new ones. In Romania, there are upgraded railway sections along European corridors that could be further improved to reach 200 km/h, through various measures including upgrades to signalling systems, tracks, and the implementation of ERTMS. It is worth noting that these modernised sections currently allow speeds of up to 160 km/h, and, importantly, the reconstruction and modernisation of engineering structures already enables speeds of up to 200 km/h — for which I commend CFR SA,” Mihai Frumosu explained.
Romania’s HSR development has been considered through multiple scenarios, and four options have been pre-selected for the Constanța – Bucharest – Hungarian border corridor. Case studies identified a cost range of EUR 8.9 million/km to EUR 25.5 million/km (based on 2018 prices), with costs varying depending on line speed, terrain, and the extent of complex structures, especially tunnels.
For Option 3, on the Bucharest – Constanța route, the study concluded that the line should be modernised to allow speeds of up to 200 km/h between Bucharest and Fetești (147 km), alongside the construction of a new line between Fetești and Constanța, enabling speeds of up to 250 km/h. The full route is 217.2 km in length, of which 140 km requires modernisation and 68 km represents newly built track. The estimated cost of the project is EUR 2.6 billion (at 2024 prices), and it would reduce journey time to just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The recommended option proposes a corridor running from Constanța, via Bucharest, Braşov, Sighişoara, Cluj-Napoca, and Oradea, towards the Hungarian border. The total length of the corridor is 782 km, designed for mixed speeds of up to 200 km/h and up to 250 km/h. The estimated CAPEX for this corridor stands at EUR 15 billion.
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