CFR ARAD-SIGHISOARA RAIL UPGRADE (SPL 2015-0712)

Upgrading 308 km of double track railway line between Arad (starting from a few km east of the main station), about 30 km east of the HU/RO border, and Sighisoara on a line that leads to Bucharest and Constanta (Rhine-Danube Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Corridor). The upgrading of the mixed traffic (passenger and freight) railway line includes an increase of maximum design speed (160 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains), axle load and maximum permissible train length, as well as installation of European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) level 2.

The project is expected to improve the quality of regional rail services in the north-west of Romania as well as national and international rail services using the Arad-Sighisoara section of the Rhine-Danube TEN-T Corridor. The main improvements will be reduction of travel times, vehicle operating cost savings, environmental and safety benefits. The project will promote modal shift from road and air to rail and consequently enhance sustainable transport with reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and therefore mitigate climate change in line with EU objectives. The project is also expected to fulfill the interoperability requirements for TEN-T Corridors set under the Regulation (EU) no. 1315/2013 on the Arad-Sighiosoara railway line, part of the Rhine-Danube TEN-T Corridor connecting Dresden to Constanta.

The project consists of the upgrading of a railway line on the Rhine-Danube Core Corridor of the Trans-European Network Transport TEN-T and will deliver higher technical standards in terms of safety, design speed, capacity and access to persons with disabilities and reduced mobility. The project contributes to the EU sustainable transport policy and EIB objective of improving Core TEN-T networks. The project is expected to improve the quality of rail services in Romania and contribute to modal shift from road to rail, thereby reducing related negative transport externalities, in line with EU objectives and the Bank's Climate Action target.
The project is located in a Cohesion Region and will improve the railway infrastructure and accessibility of the crossed area, thus contributing to the development of the Region and strengthening the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion. Therefore, it contributes to the EIB's objective of Economic and Social Cohesion / Cohesion Priority Regions.
This project upgrades a section of the TEN-T network, by improving travel times and capacity, which will yield benefits across the wider rail network. The EIB's support will enable timely support from EU funds and ultimately accelerate these investments by offering financing of longer tenor than alternatives in the market.

The investment proposed under the project falls under Annex I of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive 2011/92/EU (as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). The environmental impact of the project, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure and the need for assessment according to the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC will be analysed during the appraisal. The project will improve regional and long-distance rail connection using the Arad-Sighisoara railway line, and is expected to result in modal shift from road and air to rail with the corresponding environmental benefits in terms of reduction of noise, GHG emissions and air pollution.

The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been and will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation, 2014/25/EU, where applicable, as well as Directive 92/13/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the EU, as and where required.