Alstom announced on April 23 that it completed a new maintenance facility in Bucharest for electric rolling stock. According to the company, Alstom Grivita Depot is Romania’s first established depot dedicated to the maintenance and testing of electric trains and locomotives.

The first EMU from the order of 37 units for Romania’s Authority for Railway Reform (ARF) is currently stationed at the new depot, undergoing mandatory testing in view of market certification.

“Along with maintenance operations, Alstom Grivita Depot is also dedicated for testing, validation and fine-tuning operations, to ensure that the new rolling stock reaches the performances required by the contracts,” said Gabriel Stanciu, Alstom Managing Director for Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. 

Roberto Saccione, Alstom Services Managing Director for Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova, also stated: “This is the first modern depot to be built in Romania in the last 30 years. The new maintenance facility will be equipped with the latest generation technology, matching, or even surpassing the most advanced depots in the world, including a digital control room for fleet management.”

Alstom is currently recruiting for the new maintenance centre, with approximately 50 employees expected to join the project and undergo specialised training.

The company has been active in Romania for 30 years and is a market leader in railway electrification and signalling solutions, currently employing over 1,500 people. 

Alstom is responsible for implementing signalling or electrification solutions on the Northern branch of the Rhine-Danube railway corridor in Romania as well as on two lots of the Cluj-Oradea line and the first lot of the Caransebes-Lugoj line. It is also part of the consortium building the second metro system in Romania, in the city of Cluj-Napoca.

In addition, the first CBTC urban signalling solution in the country is under implementation by Alstom on Bucharest’s metro Line 5. Alstom has also been the provider of maintenance services for the Bucharest metro fleet for the last 20 years and a new long-term contract is in place, valid until 2036.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Alstom.com)