ROMANIA: Project promoter Bihor județ (county) signed a contract with the Ministry of Investments & European Projects on April 15 to allocate 1.376bn lei of non-reimbursable co-financing towards the development of a 33.4 km tram-train network around Oradea.
The remaining 55m lei is being provided by the județ, which signed a collaboration agreement in July 2024 with national infrastructure manager CFR for tram-trains to access the national network.
With an overall value of 1.431bn lei, the programme consists of infrastructure works which mainly comprise of upgrading and electrification of 24.2 km of existing railway around Oradea, as well as the procurement of 14 tram-train vehicles; Bihor județ has already called tenders for these.
Existing and new alignments
Services would use the city’s existing tramway infrastructure as well as the cross-city railway which links Oradea Vest and Oradea Est via the main station. As part of the work, 4 km of the Oradea – Arad main line would be electrified.
Two branches are envisaged. These would be created following the reconstruction and electrification of currently disused railways around the city. One branch would run from Oradea Est to Sânmartin, Băile 1 Mai, Băile Felix and Cordău southeast of the city. The other branch would run from Oradea Vest to Sântandrei, Girișu de Criș, Toboliu and Cheresig in the southwest.
New sections totalling 1.8 km would link the existing tram and rail networks. One connection would be built from the Nufărului tram terminus to meet the main line tracks to Cordău. A short link would allow tram-train services at Oradea Vest to join the tram network at Ioșia II.
Further tram extensions totalling 5.2 km are planned from Sinteza to the Borș industrial park to the west of the city near the Hungarian border, as well as from Octavian Goga to Oradea International Airport in the south.