9.9 billion lei contracts for passenger trains and locomotives

Railway passenger transport operators will benefit from 16 locomotives and 119 new trains, after the contracts worth a total of 9.9 billion lei will be completed by the signatory companies, Sorin Grindeanu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, said yesterday. after the signing of the contract for the purchase of 62 regional electric frames, between the Railway Reform Authority (ARF) and the Polish company PESA.

Sorin Grindeanu said: "The value of the contracts signed for the purchase of new trains at the Ministry of Transport so far is 9.9 billion lei, meaning 119 electric frames plus the 16 electric locomotives. This also means another thing, a profound change of the entire train fleet in Romania, which is absolutely necessary. The fact that no new trains have been bought in Romania for over 20 years can be seen in what it means for the comfort of the citizens. The 9.9 billion lei contracted will lead to the improvement of this fleet. Today, when we speak, apart from the frames or the hydrogen trains where the tender is not concluded, for all the others that are part of the PNRR and part of what the Modernization Fund means, the contracts have been concluded".

The Minister of Transport stated that the new trains will run on 10 electrified routes to Constanţa, Ploieşti, Buzău, Focşani, Bacău, Iaşi, Suceava, Braşov, Sfântul Gheorghe, Miercurea Ciuc, Bistriţa, Cluj, Arad, Timişoara and Reşiţa, to which are also added the municipality of Bucharest.

Sorin Grindeanu pointed out: "I wish that, unlike other contracts, and I said this last time when I signed or took part in the signing of contracts (...) we do not have delays, because (...) we we don't want to give penalties, that's not what we're looking for at the Ministry of Transport, but it doesn't mean we don't give. I would like the terms of the signed contracts to be respected, if we say a term with a date, that a new train is delivered, then it must be delivered. Maybe with these contracts we start sticking to these terms too".

With regard to non-compliance with contractual deadlines, the Minister of Transport referred to the contract that Metrorex has with Alstom for the supply of new gaskets for the subway in the Capital. Sorin Grindeanu stated that until this moment the invoice for late penalties for the subway linings that had to be delivered by Alstom last year amounts to 20 million euros. The metro trains are produced in Brazil and were supposed to arrive during 2023, but according to the company's explanations, certain supply routes were blocked due to the war in Ukraine and the entire production suffered delays.

Minister Grindeanu specified: "I think that, when you sign a contract, you take certain scenarios into account. If not, you pay. In the present case, at the metro, it is paid. (...) We are talking about a conglomerate, a huge company. Considering all these contracts signed in recent years with this supplier, whether we are talking about the subway or whether we are talking about new gaskets, maybe Romania becomes more important from a world perspective for this company and maybe we become a priority. That's the only call I can make. If not, penalties will continue to flow."

The value of the contract for the first 13 metro trains is over 100 million euros. Each train has six carriages, is 114 meters long and has a capacity of 1,200 passengers/train. The new trains will be tested for a few months, so it will be a while before they are put on the M5 towards Drumul Taberei.

During the press conference that took place at the end of yesterday's event, the Minister of Transport also spoke about the works on the highway around the Capital, A0.

Sorin Grindeanu said: I went to the area the other day; it's a bit of mobilization, the weather isn't the best for work on the construction site either. I had a discussion last week with the management of Aktor in Romania and with that in Greece together with the general director of CNAIR, Cristian Pistol. They committed to finish this section by the end of summer, so not April-May. They assumed their progress and I will ask Mr. Pistol to transmit it, I don't see why it wouldn't be public, they assumed a monthly progress that would take them to the end of the summer to finish the section that would connect the A1 Bucharest -You compete with the other two lots on A0 (up to A 2). Together with colleagues from CNAIR we are evaluating to see if they can keep to the deadline. They have the opportunity to stick to this commitment (...) Probably, depending on the weather, at the end of February-beginning of March, traffic will go up to DN 4 (Popeşti-Leordeni). In the last two weeks, we had discussions with almost all the companies that have contracts with CNAIR, including Alsim Alarko and Umbrărescu, so that we know from the beginning of the year what we rely on.

Practically, according to the Minister of Transport, at the beginning of spring, another 13 kilometers of the A0 will be open to road traffic, between Jilava (DN 5)-Vidra/Berceni-Popeşti Leordeni (DN 4), and in June lot 1 will be fully completed up to the connection with Autostrada Soarelui-A2. The completion of the Aktor lot on the A0 Highway will allow the connection of the A1 Bucharest-Pitesti with the A2 Bucharest-Constanţa without entering the Bucharest Ring Road 9DNCB). With the Ozaltin and UMB lots on the Craiova-Pitesti express road that would be completed in December 2024, a complete connection would be made on the Craiova-Constanţa section by express road and highway.