Penalties owed by Alstom for late train deliveries top EUR 40 mln, Romanian minister says

The French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom currently owes penalties of RON 90 million (EUR 18 million) for delays in the delivery of trains contracted by the Railway Reform Authority (ARF) and around EUR 22-23 million for the subway trains that were supposed to run on 5th Line of the Bucharest subway.

The updated value of the penalties owed by Alstom was provided by transport minister Sorin Grindeanu, who went to the central station in Bucharest to see five wagons and two locomotives modernized from the CFR Călători company's own funds.

In this context, Grindeanu made a new appeal to the rolling stock manufacturer to deliver both the passenger and subway trains, warning that the penalties would keep rising, Economica.net reported.

"I understand that maybe the Romanian market is not as interesting as the markets in other parts of the world, but if you still don't have this inclination, maybe others can complete these contracts more timely," he said.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)