Cluj-Napoca’s metropolitan train project is advancing, and the tender for the construction of the new stations has been awarded. The Transylvanian city’s new train is one of the largest urban and metropolitan mobility investments in Romania
The contract will be signed next week, and work will begin soon afterwards, according to longtime mayor Emil Boc. “We have awarded the tender for the implementation of the metropolitan train, the station component. Next week we are signing the contract and starting work,” the mayor said in a message published Wednesday, May 6, on Facebook.
The tender was won by the association CON-A Operations SRL, ZUE Spolka Akcyjna from Poland, and UTI Construction and Facility Management SA.
The project is also carried out in partnership with state-owned train company CFR and has a total value of over RON 1.4 billion, of which approximately 85% is non-reimbursable European funding.
The metropolitan train is designed as a public rail transport system that will use the existing infrastructure between the towns Bonțida and Gârbău, on a route of nearly 49 km. The network will connect Cluj-Napoca to localities in the metropolitan area, such as Baciu, Apahida, Jucu, or Bonțida, through 23 boarding and disembarkation points.
Some of the 23 stations will be modernized, while others will be entirely new, especially within the city of Cluj-Napoca. Eight such stations will be built, along with four underground pedestrian passages and an underground road passage in the Sugar Factory area.
The metropolitan train project also includes extensive works on the existing railway infrastructure: modernization of lines and platforms, expansion of access areas, new signaling systems, and reorganization of traffic around the stations. In total, over 50 km of railway line will be modernized, and nearly 3 km of new track will be built toward the Bonțida Depot.
Eight park & ride parking facilities will also be arranged, at Bonțida, Jucu de Jos, Câmpenești, Apahida, Dezmir, Hoia, Rădaia, and Gârbău, in order to facilitate transfer from road transport to rail transport.
According to the project documentation, the metropolitan train fleet will consist of seven electric trainsets, each with a capacity of approximately 420 seats. The trains will run exclusively on electricity, with a maximum speed of 150 km/h, every 30 minutes. Official estimates show that the system could transport approximately 7,600 passengers per day in 2030, reaching around 9,500 daily passengers by 2050.
The metropolitan train project is scheduled to end by 2029. Two of the project’s three major tenders are already finalized, namely the one for stations and the one for supervision, while the acquisition of electric trainsets is still ongoing after being relaunched in March.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos|Sabin Cirstoveanu)
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