Sometime in the third quarter, trains will return to the direct route between Bucharest and Giurgiu, work on the Arges bridge is at a very advanced stage, and test trains could run from May, a transport ministry official was quoted as saying by Agerpes.

Trains have been running through Videle since 2005 and the journey from Bucharest to Giurgiu takes over two hours and there are very few trains, so they are no longer a solution for commuters when you can only travel an hour by minibus.

At the beginning of 2023, it was hoped that the line would be opened by December, so that after almost 20 years it would be included in the train service again. The works have not yet been completed, but that time is approaching and passenger trains can start running, probably in July-August. There was information that CFR Călători will operate on line 102, other sources spoke about the private company TFC. It is too early to say.

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How are we doing with construction on line 102?

“The works on the railway track are very advanced, they have exceeded 95% of the degree of readiness of the physical stage. According to the information we have received, the tests will start in May and we hope to be able to travel by train through Argesh from the third quarter of this year. Remember that this is a bridge that has been collapsing for 19 years. It is important to say there that the 2nd stage of the electrification project will follow. It is also at an advanced stage of preparation and contracting,” Ionuc Savoiu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, told Agerpres.

Earlier announcements indicated that journey times would be 50 minutes between Giurgiu and Progresu Station in Bucharest and 30 minutes between Progresu Station and Bucharest Nord.

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Line 102 Bucuresti Nord – Bucuresti Progresu – Giurgiu has never been faster. For example, in 2002, three years before the bridge fell, trains from Bucharest to Giurgiu ran non-stop for 90 to 98 minutes. Bucharest Progress – Giurgiu trains, which stopped at all 11 stations of the route, ran in about 90 minutes.

In 2005, due to a flood, the Hradishtia bridge collapsed, and the work on its reconstruction was delayed for more than ten years, because no funds were allocated and the project was not considered important. The bridge is located between Vidra and Grădiștea stations, about 20 km from Bucharest.

The absence of this bridge terribly lengthens the distance on the railway between Bucharest and Giurgiu, trains are forced to detour through Videle, on lines where the speed has decreased significantly compared to the 90s.

The road is 118 km and there are only three direct trains per day, with travel times of over two hours and three hours respectively.