Romania launches 979 mln euro railway upgrade tender

Financing for the projects will be secured from non-refundable European funds under the country’s 2021-2027 Transport Programme, CFR said in a press release on Wednesday.

The contracts involve both design and modernisation works for the 41.6 km long Drobeta-Turnu Severin-Baile Herculane segment and the 32.6 km long Baile Herculane-Po Poarta segment. The value of the contracts is 2.44 billion lei and 2.43 billion lei, respectively.

The contracts have six-year and five-year durations, respectively, with one year being allocated to the design stage and the remainder to the execution of the works. Bidders may submit offers until July 29, 2024.

The modernisation of the entire 225.3 km Craiova-Drobeta Turnu Severin-Caransebes railway section will enable train speeds between 120 km/h and 160 km/h. The contracts also include the modernisation of railway electrification installations and transit capacity expansions.

In May, CFR also launched two tenders worth a total of 7.35 billion lei ($1.6 billion/1.48 billion euro) for the modernisation of two other segments on the Craiova-Drobeta Turnu Severin-Caransebes railway section.

Romania's 2021-2027 Transport Programme is a strategic initiative designed to modernise the country's transportation infrastructure. With a total value of 9.6 billion euro, the programme receives 4.6 billion euro in funding from the European Union.

(1 euro=4.9772 lei)