​The first new Alstom long-distance trains were supposed to arrive in Romania in the summer, and after testing and certification, they were supposed to be put into Train Running from December. Due to production delays, the first train should arrive in November, and it is not known when the second will arrive. However, the steps are more complicated, the delays are long, and it will be several months before we board the first new train.

It is possible that the first train will be tested at Făurei in the last days of the year and will receive certificates by December 31, in order not to lose part of the funding.

Polish-made trains have not yet arrived

It was planned that the first trains produced by Alstom will arrive in Poland in June or July, then tests will be carried out, approvals and certificates will be obtained, and in December 2023 it will be possible to travel on the route Bucharest – Constanta, for example. The contract was signed in the spring of 2022. The total value of the contract for the purchase of 37 electrical units and related maintenance services for 15 years is 2.42 billion lei, excluding VAT.

But the trains are not yet ready at the Katowice plant, and Alstom cites problems with obtaining electronic components that suppliers did not deliver on time.

All testing was planned to be conducted in Romania and two test frames would be used, one for the Făurei test ring and the other for the CFR network, and it was hoped that all testing would be completed by 15 December. , 2023, explained representatives of AFER (Romanian Railways Authority), who organized a press conference for the institution’s 25th anniversary.

The problem is that the tests with the new trains were supposed to be carried out according to the summer schedule, that is, from June 2023 and will last six months. But since the trains have not arrived, there is no test object yet.

In this section we only talk about the “ground” trains from Alstom, the ones that will be the first to be used by CFR Călători. There are also “innumerable” delays in the delivery of new Alstom metro trains destined for Bucharest, trains manufactured in Brazil.

But it is important to have a free seat on the test ring in Făurei, and Alstom has a test “slot” at the end of October, but then the trains do not arrive in the country, and the other “slot” is at the end of December, from 23. The contract is signed for these periods, because AFER also has other clients in Făurei, where they work in two shifts.

Therefore, the new trains cannot travel with passengers from December, because they must first arrive in the country and be tested in Făurei and on the CFR network. A few months will pass

Why winter tests are more difficult

If the tests are carried out between winter and spring, the conditions change a lot because, for example, you need a clear line and a certain temperature range for brake tests, AFER representatives explain. It was extremely hot in January this year, but if it is very cold and snowy in 2024, these tests can NOT be done in winter, only in spring.

The tests take a long time because these are complex trains and there are many sections to check and some of the tests are carried out on the current line, i.e. the national rail network. It is necessary that the tests are carried out by the CFR SA network and check that the new Coradia Stream trains are 100% compatible with the safety systems.

The trains are already being tested, some of them are manufactured at the factory in Poland, others at the test ring in Velim (Czech Republic). Once the trains arrive in the country, they also have to pass the Făurei test ring, so it will take longer. And the certification procedures have started.

The director general of AFER says that the institution he heads has no reason to slow down, as initially a large number of tests were planned in Romania, but the manufacturer and the authorities decided to conduct more tests in Poland and the Czech Republic, so they have much less left to do in Romania. AFER says that, taking into account the tests that still need to be done, they can be completed in a week and a half, and it will take days to compile the report.

“Let’s not start with the wrong premise. AFER is not a delay element. AFER has all the possibilities,” noted the general director of the institution, Kostyantyn Andronake.

AFER says that we are talking about complex equipment and traffic safety, so all checks should be done according to the textbook, even if it takes a long time.

It must be said that tests with new trains will be conducted not only by AFER, but also by other bodies in the railway sector.

The first train should arrive in November, there is no word on the second

What does the ARF, the Railway Reform Authority, the agency through which these trains were bought, say? Stefan Roseanu, director of management, told HotNews.ro that Alstom had promised that the first train would arrive in the country in November. Others are still unknown.

“It is important for us to have a train that, from the point of view of legislation, is accepted for payment, so that Romania does not lose the European funds that we tried to attract until the end of POIM,” says the head of the ARFD. “We want to be sure that everything will be ready on time, because this is the first time that the train has been delivered to a public authority, and this is the first time that it has been delivered after the technical standards of compatibility, which provide for certain Relations between the authorities of Romania and the European Railway management, so the procedures are a little more complicated.”

The delivery schedule states that the first train is currently being fitted with interior elements at a factory in Poland and should arrive in Romania in November, but there is no deadline for the second train.

Under these conditions, given that it is not easy, it is impossible to indicate a deadline when the trips will be made by this train, especially since the tests in Făurei can be carried out at the end of December, and without these tests the train has no possibility to run with passengers in Romania.

The energy consumption of the train Bucharest – Predial and Constanța – Bucharest also needs to be checked to see if it is actually similar to what was in the proposal two years ago.

On the edge of a knife – A lot to do in a short time

I asked the head of the ARF if it is possible to conduct a test in Făurei in the last decade of December, and get the permission before December 31, after which Romania may lose several tens of millions of euros? “We are looking for a solution and doing what we can. We do not allow or produce (…) Our goal is to launch the first train to Romania so that citizens can see that the project is approaching 100% commercial use,” Roseanu explains.

Another aspect: the financial part, because Romania could lose more than 50 million euros if the first train does not receive all approvals by December 31, 2023.

The first trains will arrive at CFR Călători, which submitted a single bid in the public services auction and will begin evaluating the bid from Wednesday to see if it meets the requirements.

In these days, the ARF delegation will go to the plant in Poland to see the trains and discuss the specific delivery schedule. Absorption procedures will also be established.