The “Dacia” train on the route Vienna – Bucharest traveled the distance Cimmeria – Sighisoara in a record time – 96 minutes, on a modernized line, work on which began 11 years ago and is still not completed. The record of 105 km/ha was celebrated by the Pro Infrastructura association, which notes that the success is overshadowed by the fact that work on this segment is not yet complete, although it all started more than a decade ago.

IRN train 347 Vienna – Bucharest arrived 45 minutes late at Cimmeria and recovered 22 minutes 169 km to Sighisoara. According to CFR Călători application data cited by Asociația Pro Infrastructura, the train did not travel for one hour and 58 minutes, but for one hour and 36 minutes with four intermediate stops. The Dacia train is the only one that runs between the two cities per day.

There were sections where the speed was stable at 120-130 km/h. The time achieved by the Dacia train clearly exceeds the time of 1995-2000, when average speeds were higher than now on almost all highways.

How much were the fastest trains between Sighisoara and Cimmeria

1970 2 hours 41 minutes

1989 2 hours 25 minutes

1996: 2 hours 10 minutes

2005: 2 hours 22 minutes

2008 2 hours 41 minutes

2017 4 hours 20 minutes

2019: 2 hours 46 minutes

2021: 2 hours 20 minutes

2022: 2 hours 15 minutes

2023: one hour and 57 minutes

In the future, it should reach 90 minutes.

In July 2022, the first dynamic tests were carried out at a speed of 160 km/h on the Sighisoara – Koslariu section.

But as the Pro Infrastructure Association points out:

Unfortunately, the 11-year duration of work overshadows this success. After holding tenders in 2011 and signing the first contracts in 2012, the reconstructed line began to be opened for single-track traffic in 2018-2019, and the most delayed section was ready only in 2021.

Yes, the longest term of execution was 8-9 years, although the term of the contract was 3 years. A long time with one-way traffic and passengers waiting for “transitions” through closed stations. How many travelers will remain compared to 2010? The permanent construction site also reduced the number of trains, so Dacia international became the only direct train between Blaž and the capital of the Alba Iulia district.

But the nightmare did not end in 2021. Although both wires were ready, only one was used as the substation changing installations (electronic circuit breakers) were part of another contract, also delayed!

On the high-speed version from Koslariu, neither of the two lines could be used, trains bypassed the old route for 2 years. Only recently, after the commissioning of the last centralizations (Crăciunel, Podu Mureș, Coșlariu and Sântimbru), the line can be used close to the designed parameters.

The ETCS signaling system, which will facilitate driving at 160 km/h, is not even tested, and the experience of the Curtici-KM 614 is not encouraging: 5 years from reception to (recently) successful ETCS trials…