A new Alstom electric locomotive, capable of hauling up to 16 passenger cars at speeds of 160 km/h, was received for commercial service and handed over to CFR Passengers. The locomotive will be able to run, among other routes, on the interregional route Timișoara-Cluj-Napoca-Iași, one of five routes served by the new locomotives.

The reception took place on October 9 at the Alstom depot within the CFR Grivița Workshops in Bucharest, carried out by representatives of the Railway Reform Authority and the manufacturer. Actual introduction into service depends on completion of registration in the European Register of Vehicles and the CFR Passengers Safety Certificate.

The purchase is part of a contract for 16 multisystem electric locomotives, of which 15 for operation and one as a spare, which will replace old six-axle locomotives on a network of 3,978 kilometers. The project, with a total value of 441.77 million lei, is financed from the Modernization Fund and aims to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 25%.

For Cluj residents in the diaspora, the new locomotives promise faster and more efficient travel on the route to Cluj-Napoca, when they actually enter service.