With a delay of nearly two years, expected to cost the supplier over a fifth of the contract’s EUR 100 million value, French group Alstom delivered the first of the 13 trains for the Bucharest subway network, according to Economica.net. 

The train will start serving the M5 line, which is the destination for all the 13 trains supplied by Alstom under the contract, this fall. 

Alstom was supposed to deliver the first of the 13 subway trains produced in Brazil in June 2022. However, it deferred the delivery, citing problems with sourcing parts amid the conflict in Ukraine. Late delivery penalties were announced by transport minister Sorin Grindeanu at EUR 22 million – over a fifth of the contract’s EUR 100 million value.

Another nine trains are due to arrive in the country by the end of the year, with the remaining three sets to be delivered next year, according to the updated timetable announced to the subway management company Metrorex by the manufacturer.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Iulian Dragomir/Dreamstime.com)