Bucharest – Constanta train ride to take two and a half hours in 2011, after end of works

The Bucharest – Constanta railway track will be modernized so that the train ride between the two cities will take only two and a half hours. The modernization works should be ready in July next year, said the Transport Minister Radu Berceanu. Trains will have a speed of 160 kilometers per hour on the new tracks. Works should have been finalized this summer, but the project was delayed due to the dispute between the Romanian Railways Company (CFR) and the construction companies working on the project. The constructors are saying CFR has not paid the due amounts, but Berceanu says the problems have not stemmed from the debt, but from the dispute. “We believe they have delayed the works a lot, they think we should pay them extra,” said Berceanu. The railway track modernization will be done in parallel with the Cernavoda – Constanta highway segments, which will also be partially finalized. The association Swietelsky - Wiebe – Takenaka is working on the Bucharest North – Baneasa and Fetesti – Constanta railway segments. The companies have finalized 99 percent of the works, but have only received some of the amounts in the contract, according to them. The segment Baneasa – Fundulea – Fetesti is built by several companies. The value of works for this segment is of EUR 322.5 million, which will come from the EU through the ISPA funding facility.