First train bought by Romania in the last two decades close to being operational

The Coradia Stream train, the first set purchased by Romania in the last 20 years, has begun testing and is set to start operating with passengers on November 20, according to the Romanian Railway Reform Authority (ARF).

The train departed from Bucharest for its first non-passenger test run to Brașov on Saturday, November 9, performing the necessary tests for commercial use. Testing continued the next day, with the train braving the first snow of the year on the same route.

The tests will be conducted over 10 days on two major routes: Bucharest-Brașov and Bucharest-Constanța.

“If all goes well, it will be put into service with passengers on November 20. Tickets should be available for sale starting this week,” said ARF President Ștefan Roșeanu, cited by Agerpres.

The new train will be operated by CFR Călători and will serve the Bucharest-Brașov route.

"Currently, there are about 160 - specifically, 161 - new train sets in various stages of procurement, financed through different sources, whether we’re talking about the Operational Program, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), or the Modernization Fund. These trains are starting to arrive," transport minister Sorin Grindeanu said, cited by G4Media.

ARF contracted 37 long-distance electric inter-regional train sets from the French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom’s Italian division through a purchase agreement signed in March 2022.

The first Alstom Coradia Stream electric train from this batch arrived in Romania on December 4, 2023, and has been in testing since then, while the delivery schedule for the remaining 36 electric RE-IR train sets has been delayed.

The total contract value, including maintenance services for 15 years, is RON 2.42 billion (EUR 486.4 million), excluding VAT. The trains for ARF were manufactured in Poland.

At the same time, the Romanian government is seeking to modernize around 2,200 kilometers of railway.