The first new Coradia Stream train operated by a private railway company has entered service on the Bucharest - Brasov route, the Railway Reform Authority (ARF) announced on Wednesday on Facebook.
The unit is Coradia Stream RE-IR electric train No. 14 (TS14), built by Alstom and delivered on March 2 for commercial passenger use, and then assigned to private operator InterRegional Calatori. Together with the trainset TS15, it will form a pool of nine services: five from Bucharest to Brasov and four in the opposite direction.
ARF said said that this marks a new stage in Romania's transition from directly awarded public service contracts to contracts granted exclusively through competitive procedures, in line with EU rules.
Thus, under Regulation (EC) 1370/2007, all EU member states have been required since December 24, 2023 to award public rail passenger service contracts through competitive tenders.
ARF president Claudiu Muresan said the process aligns Romania with European and national legal requirements and aims to reduce costs through lower subsidies, improve service quality for passengers and increase the efficiency of public rail transport.
The competitive award of 13 Coradia Stream trains to InterRegional Calatori was carried out as a pilot tender conducted by ARF via the Romanian Commodity Exchange (BRM). The trains will operate on the following routes: Bucharest North - Brasov - Cluj-Napoca; Bucharest North - Brasov; Brasov - Deda - Cluj-Napoca; and Cluj-Napoca - Deva - Timsoara North.
Alstom's contract with ARF covers the delivery of 37 new RE-IR interregional electric trainsets. The investment is part of a phased project managed by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure: the first stage was financed through the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (POIM) 2014 - 2020, and the second is co-financed under the Transport Program (TP) 2021 - 2027.
The total project value is RON 1.709 billion, with an implementation period initially set for January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2025, a deadline that has already been exceeded.
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