Government in talks with Chinese companies for first high-speed railway in Romania

Romania’s Government talked to several Chinese companies about the possibility to build a high-speed railway between Romania’s capital Bucharest and Iasi, which could then be extended to Moldova’s capital Chisinau. Prime Minister Victor Ponta and transport minister Ioan Rus went on a high-speed train from Beijing to Tianjin during their visit to China. On this occasion, Ponta said that the European Commission is opposing the construction of a high-speed railway from Bucharest to Constanta but that Romanian authorities are negotiating with Chinese companies the project for such a railway from Bucharest to Iasi. The feasibility study for such a project should be done by 2015. This would be the first project of this type in Central and Easter Europe, Ponta said, according to Mediafax newswire. Romania would contract both the technology for the railway and the high-speed trains from China for this project. “The average price for a high-speed railway, of 350 kilometers per hour, is about USD 20 million per kilometer, but I think that in Romania, which doesn’t have such long distances, we need the technology for 200-250 kilometers per hour,” Ponta also said. editor@romania-insider.com