Romanian rolling stock producer Astra Vagoane Calatori and French company Alstom Transport have contested the auction held by the Bucharest metro operator Metrorex to buy 51 new trains.

According to several sources, the auction winner is Spanish company CAF, from which Metrorex already bought trains, reports local Mediafax.

The contract, estimated at some EUR 440 million (VAT included), provides the acquisition of minimum 43 and maximum 51 trains for the future Drumul Taberei- Pantelimon metro line.

Metrorex received offers from Astra Vagoane, Alstom, CAF, CSR (China) and Pesa (Poland).

In December, the Bucharest subway operator announced it would postpone the appointment of the winner by March, due to the bid complexity.

On March 10, Metrorex said that it had finished the evaluation, but it would announce the final results in an award notice published on the EU’s Electronic Public Procurement System, when the contestation deadlines expire.

editor@romania-insider.com