It is still not clear where the 62 new short-distance trains, necessary for the modernization of CFR Călători, will come from. The Railway Reform Authority (ARF) is awaiting the reasoning of the Court of Appeal regarding the admission of the appeal submitted by the French from Alstom Transport to the contract signed with the Polish manufacturer PESA.
“Until then, according to the legislation, the service contract continues its life”, declared the president of ARF, Ştefan Roşeanu.
“We are still waiting for the Court’s motivation to see what are the points to be reevaluated in the offer made by PESA. At least this results from the brief motivation that is published on the justice portal, but we won’t know the exact points that will need to be reanalyzed until after the motivation comes. Until that moment, according to the legislation, the PESA service contract continues its life and, following the reevaluation, we will see what the next steps are. It is premature to speak about cancellations or non-cancellations, especially since, at this moment, in this brief justification, nothing is written about the cancellation of the contract. Contracts are annulled when the court expressly requests it”, argued Roşeanu.
The head of the ARF also pointed out that in the court’s brief reasoning, it is said that it “admits in part” the appeal, so the aspects that were “withheld” are not yet known.
“In the brief presentation, the court says that some aspects were partially retained, so we cannot even know which points they retained. On some things we can say that ARF was clearly right, once the points contested by Alstom were not retained, maybe on others Alstom was right, which is why we have to do the re-evaluation and see what the result of the re-evaluation is”, he explained .
Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz Spolka Akcyjna (PESA), Poland, and Alstom Transport, France, are the two companies that submitted offers, in 2023, in the tender for the purchase of 62 short-haul electric frames (RE-R), organized by ARF.
At the end of October, the Railway Reform Authority designated the Polish company Pojazdy Szynowe Pesa Bydgoszcz Spolka Akcyjna – PESA – as the winner of the tender for the purchase of 62 regional electric frames (RE-R), lots 1, 2 and 3, and in January 2024 the contract was signed.
In parallel, the French company submitted objections to the National Council for the Resolution of Appeals (CNSC). Because the CNSC rejected the appeal, Alstom Trasport appealed the decision to the Bucharest Court of Appeal, and the court admitted, in part, the complaint.
The total value of the project is 3.23 billion lei, without VAT, and the financing is provided by the Transport Program (PT) 2021 – 2027, with co-financing from the state budget.
The contract is divided into three lots, namely: Lot 1 – 20 RE-R regional electric frames, intended for the transport of passengers on the Bucharest North – Ploiesti South – Adjud, Iaşi – Paşcani – Suceava, Bacău – Paşcani routes; Lot 2 – 23 RE-R regional electric frames, intended for rail passenger transport on the Braşov – Gheorgheni, Arad – Timisoara – Caransebeş, Huedin – Cluj – Bistriţa routes and Lot 3 – 19 RE-R regional electric frames, intended for rail passenger transport on the routes Bucharest North – Ploiesti West – Braşov, Bucharest North – Roşiori, Bucharest North – Bucharest Obor/Fundulea, Constanţa – Feteşti.
The Polish frames can travel at a maximum speed of 160 km/h and can carry 453 passengers, of which 224 on seats. They also have 16 places for transporting bicycles.
According to the contractual provisions, deliveries are to begin in the first part of 2026, to be completed by the end of 2027.
