Investments in locomotives and trains

Romania buys new high-speed trains and locomotives.

Daniela Budu, 05.02.2024, 13:50

The Romanian Railways will receive new trains and locomotives, after the Railway Reform Authority signed a contract with the Polish manufacturer PESA for 62 Regio electric short-distance commuter trains, as well as a contract with the French manufacturer Alstom for 16 new locomotives. The first contract is worth 3.2 billion lei, i.e. 640 million euros, and the second one is worth 760 million lei, about 150 million euros. Also, last December, Bucharest signed a contract with the Polish manufacturer for the delivery, starting in 2026, of 20 long-haul InterRegio trains. However, Romania still needs 150-200 new locomotives, as well as short-distance and long-distance trains, said the president of the Railway Reform Authority, Ştefan Roşeanu. He spoke on Radio Romania about the rolling stock situation.

Ştefan Roşeanu: “Unfortunately, we know that most of the trains we have in circulation are obsolete, the lack of investment from the last 20 or so years speaks for itself. Basically, since the larger series of Blue Arrow trains, purchased in the early 2000s, there has been no major investment made until the new wave, which started in 2022. We have some new trains bought by a private operator, but in general, we are talking about second-hand vehicles, which are repaired, modernized and put back into circulation also on the Romanian railways.

According to him, the investments carried out by the Authority are essential to reduce the age of the railway fleet as a whole, as well as to improve the working conditions for the railway staff. Thus, they intend to start bringing the new trains and locomotives to Romania and put them into circulation in the latter half of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. Ştefan Roşeanu says that in this way competition between the railway companies present in the country will be stimulated.

Ştefan Roşeanu: “We will be able to see for the first time in Romania that on a route like Braşov-Bucureşti, which is the busiest route in Romania, we have public services operated by three different operators, with the same type of trains. So, we will be able to make a much clearer comparison than today, between the quality and the respect that the operators have towards the rolling stock and towards travelers in general.

Previously, Romania bought 37 new electric trains from the French manufacturer Alstom, the first train being already in static and dynamic tests. Once these trains go into circulation, there remains the problem of railways that have been waiting for years to be rehabilitated. According to statistics, out of the approximately 12,000 kilometers of railway network, in Romania there is decent traffic on approximately 500 km, i.e. at a speed between 140 and 160 km per hour. (LS)