TransMin Bode: I think Gara de Nord - Otopeni Airport railway line will be commissioned on December 12

Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications Lucian Bode says the Gara de Nord - Otopeni Airport railway line will be commissioned on December 12.

"I attended a test today, a check for everything we believe will happen somewhere at the end of October, when we complete the 8 kilometers of double line. Gara de Nord is 19.5 km away from Otopeni. The railway is being upgraded over 8 km between Mogosoaia and Balotesti; there will be double rail there. The 3-kilometre section is being built, the footbridge over DN1, from scratch," Bode said Tuesday.

He added that it is hard to imagine that this railway includes the first section of railway built from scratch in Romania after the 1989 Revolution.

"Picture this: it is the first section of a railway line built in Romania from scratch after 1989. So, we are in a physical progress of over 98%; next week, we will most likely make the first trips with guests, with the media, as we did with the metro. (...) We believe that with the new Train Schedule, December 12, from that moment on we will travel the 19.5 kilometres from Gara de Nord to Otopeni or from Otopeni to Gara de Nord in 15-17 minutes," added Bode.

According to CFR SA, the national railway transport operator, the new railway to the airport starts from the connection area (former Halta Odaile) for about 600 meters; the route continues with a consolidation area, 900 metres long and a viaduct of 1.52 kilometers, which crosses DN1, to the new passenger station at the Henri Coanda International Airport Arrivals Terminal. The railway line was installed along the entire route, with the builder currently carrying out the last drilling and mechanical profiling works.

The project 'Upgrading the Bucharest North - Henri Coanda International Airport Bucharest railway line - PHASE I: Connection to Terminal T1, Henri Coanda International Airport Bucharest' provides for the construction of a simple 2.95-km railway with three bridges, a viaduct 1.52 km long that crosses DN1 and a train station, with double rails at Terminal T1.

The value of the contract is 398.1 million lei, and the contractor is Arcada Company. The source of funding is from European non-reimbursable funds.

The following builders have been involved: Arcada (civil constructions / viaduct), Wiebe (railway superstructure) and Alstom (signalling and telecommunications installations).