There is no clarity on the delivery of the 13 Metropolis BM4 subway trains produced by Alstom in Brasil, initially scheduled to begin in June 2023, but the fines payable by the supplier certainly reached EUR 20 million – Romanian minister of transport Sorin Grindeanu said on January 30, quoted by Hotnews.ro. The contract has a total value of just over EUR 100 million.

With a larger EUR 488 million contract for 37 Coradia Stream regional trains and 15 years of associated maintenance services also subject to delays plus frequent delays on its maintenance contract for the whole fleet of Bucharest subway operator Metrorex (a EUR 560 million-820 million contract for 15 years), the French group has recently sealed another major contract in Romania: EUR 154 million for 16 Traxx 3 MS electric locomotives and 20 years of associated maintenance services.

In early December, Mihai Barbu, the president of Metrorex – the beneficiary of the 3 Metropolis BM4 subway trains, announced that Alstom handed the company a delivery calendar with the first train scheduled for delivery in March 2024. The calendar doesn't provide any predictability, however, as implied by minister Grindeanu in its January 30 interview.

"The justification [provided by Alstom] is that due to the war in Ukraine, certain global supply chains were affected, and it was necessary to find new suppliers for those materials – which takes time. I understand, but I think that when you sign a contract, you consider various scenarios. If not, you pay. In our case, these penalties keep accumulating," Grindeanu said.

In December, Metrorex's president mentioned issues faced by Alstom in bringing the subway trains from Brasil, as well as minor construction issues spotted during the production stage.

"A Metrorex delegation visited the production site and spotted some irregularities. There were no major irregularities. We don't know if they fixed them or not. They also have problems with transport," Mihai Barbu told Mainnews.ro.

In October, Alstom regional director Gabriel Stanciu mentioned the option of bringing the trains by air. He admitted the technical issues but blamed it on the unannounced S-shape route of the M5 subway line that the trains are supposed to serve.

"Added to that is the current situation [the technical issues]; these crises are coming in waves, with the armed conflicts and ending with the last problem: we could not find a ship to bring the trains to Constanța. At this time, I tell you honestly, we are also investigating the possibility of bringing them by air, which obviously generates a huge extra cost," Stanciu said, according to Clubferoviar.ro.

The first Coradia Stream regional train is expected to come into service no sooner than June.

The first new train bought by Romania in the last 20 years, an Alstom Coradia Stream electric frame, which is currently being tested in Făurei, in Romania, will not travel with passengers earlier than the middle of the year, according to estimates voiced by Alstom regional director Gabriel Stanciu on January 30. 

The first train was supposed to be delivered (for entering service) at the end of 2023, with all 37 trains expected by the end of 2024. Comparatively, the first one will enter service no sooner than June, and the other two are in tests. The trains are produced by Alstom Ferroviaria in Poland.

Asked when the first train will be ready, Stanciu said: "We will see the train after the tests are finished, and the tests will be finished after everything is tested."

"We had to modify this [testing] calendar because there were, let's say, 'some difficulties' and I don't want to go into details - don't ask me, I won't tell you anything [...] - and we had to send the first train to Velin in the Czech Republic for the circuit tests, the second one has come so far completed and we are doing part of the tests in Făurei and on normal railways, and the third one [is] in Germany, on the Deutsche Bahn network, because there we do the tests for the technical interoperability standards - STI in Romanian, TSI in English", explained Stanciu.

A new contract was signed recently by Alstom in Romania for 16 locomotives. The Romanian Railway Reform Authority (ARF) signed on January 29 the contract for the purchase of 16 electric locomotives from Alstom for a price of EUR 154 million (plus VAT), including maintenance services for 20 years. The locomotives are scheduled to be delivered within 24 months after the signing of the contract.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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