A tender for the purchase of 20 long-distance electric trains funded by the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) has been cancelled, the Authority of Railway Reforms (ARR) said on Tuesday.

According to a press release sent by ARR, the procurement procedure for 20 multi-purpose inter-regional electric units (UEM-IR-2) financed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan was automatically canceled in the public procurement system SICAP according to the conditions in none of the five registered firm did not submit an application.

The Rail Reform Authority says it will review “decisions to resume the process as soon as possible to meet PNRR benchmarks and preserve funds allocated to the rail system” under public procurement legislation.

In August, the Railway Reform Authority announced the start of the award procedure for 20 RE-IR2 electric frames for long-distance transport, with an estimated cost of 1.2 to 2.37 billion lei.

The procedure was also aimed at the purchase of auxiliary maintenance services, training of personnel in matters of operation, train movement, transportation, insurance, commissioning and technical assistance during the warranty period, according to the Terms of Reference.

The term of maintenance and repair is 15 years, which is necessary for the operation of the respective trains. Thus, there is a review clause in the purchase agreement, that is, the possibility of extending the service term by another 15 years, without conducting a competitive procedure, by concluding an additional act.

The purchased frames will be distributed among all passenger railway operators on the basis of public service contracts, which will be concluded in accordance with the provisions of the EU Regulation

These trains will operate on several routes of the electrified or electrified public rail network, namely:

• Oradea – Cluj-Napoca – Sighisoara – Brasov
• Cluj-Napoca – Alba Iulia – Cimmeria (Virgo) – Tirgu Jiu – Craiova – Calafat
• Brasov – Sfantu Gheorghe – Mercure-Chuk – Bacau – Iasi
• Brasov – Sfantu Gheorghe – Merkurya-Chuk – Bacau – Suceava
• Galaţi – Mereşeşti (Fokşani) – Bacău – Iasi
• Galaţi – Mereşeşti (Fokşani) – Bacău – Suceava
• Galati – Braila – Constanta – Mangalia
• Iasi – Bacau – Meresheti (Focsani) – Barboshi (Galatsi) – Braila – Constanta – Mangalia
• Suceava – Bacău – Mereşesti (Focşani) – Barbosi (Galatz) – Braila – Constanţa – Mangalia
• Giurgiu – Bucharest – Tsyulnitsa (Slobozia) – Calaras

It should be noted that a number of lines in the list are NOT electrified: Oradea – Cluj, Constanta – Mangalia, Bucharest – Giurgiu. It is hard for us to imagine that they will be electrified in this decade.

The estimated value ranges from 1,201,615,722 lei without VAT to 2,374,592,589.90 lei without VAT. Funding for the project is provided through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, “Component 4 – Sustainable Transport” and from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, within the amounts approved annually for this purpose. , in accordance with state investment programs approved by law.