Alstom and Arcada team to modernise 66km of Romanian Cluj-Oradea railway line

Credit: Alstom

Alstom has been awarded two new signalling and electrification contracts in Romania, as part of modernisation works on the first two sub-sections of the Cluj Napoca-Oradea line. The two contracts were signed by Asocierea RailWorks consortium, consisting of Alstom and Romanian civil works company Arcada, with CFR SA, the Romanian state rail infrastructure operator. Alstom will provide state-of-the-art digital train control, traffic management solutions and electrification infrastructure and Arcada will carry out all the civil works. The implementation period for each contract is 42 months.

“These new contracts consolidate Alstom’s leading position on the Romanian railway market, for both digital train control and electrification,” Gabriel Stanciu, Alstom Managing Director for Romania, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova. “In the recent years, Bucharest has become a strategic centre for Alstom’s signalling expertise employing over 200 highly qualified engineers, whose expertise serves local projects, and international ones.”

The two contracts

The two contracts cover the modernisation of 66km of double railway line between Cluj Napoca and Poieni (30km for Cluj Napoca–Aghireș and 36km for Aghireș-Poieni). It includes electrification, infrastructure, and superstructure modernisation, signalling and telecommunication systems, as well as civil works. Alstom will directly oversee the ERTMS Level 2 deployment, implementation of the traffic control solution, the digital interlocking and passenger information systems, as well as electrification works including power supply and overhead contact line. The modernisation will enable the speed of 160km/h for passenger trains and 120km/h for freight.

For the electrification works, Alstom will supply two Traction Power Stations and its OCS3 catenary solution for main lines, leveraging its in-house capabilities at the manufacturing facility in Lecco, Italy, and its worldwide experience of OCS3 in commercial operation.

Alstom in Romania

Alstom is a global pioneer in its development and implementation and a worldwide leader in on-board digital train control equipment. ATLAS 200 is Alstom’s ERTMS Level 2 solution allowing trains to run at higher speeds without physical lineside signals. In Europe, more than 30% of ERTMS Level 2 lines in service are provided by Alstom.

Alstom has been active in Romania for almost 30 years and is a market leader in railway electrification and signalling solutions. The company is responsible for implementing signalling or electrification solutions on more than 75% of the Northern branch of the Rhine-Danube railway corridor in Romania. The first CBTC urban signalling solution in the country is under implementation by Alstom on Bucharest’s metro Line 5. The company has also been the provider of maintenance services for the Bucharest metro fleet for the last 18 years and a new long-term contract is in place, valid until 2036.