ROMANIA: Railway reform authority ARF has named Alstom preferred bidder for a contract to supply 16 four-axle electric locomotives.
The announcement was made on January 16, with formal award of the contract subject to a 10-day standstill period. The order worth 767·5m lei+VAT, including 20 years of maintenance, is to be financed from the state budget and the National Recovery & Resilience Plan.
The locomotives would be used by CFR Călători on passenger trains on four routes to be operated under three public service contracts:
- Dej – Brașov – București – Constanța;
- Timișoara – Arad – Brașov – București – Constanța;
- Timișoara – Cluj-Napoca – Iași;
- Iași/Suceava – București – Constanța.
Tender requirements included ETCS, a maximum speed of between 160 and 200 km/h and the ability to haul trains of up to 16 coaches.
