The Oradea tram-train will run to the Hungarian border

This spring, public procurement tenders will be announced for the tram-train project in Oradea, with a total investment of EUR 250 million (approximately HUF 100 billion) – writes iho.hu.

Where necessary, the tracks are electrified

The Oradea tram-train aims to provide a non-stop connection

• the city centre,
• International airport in the south of the city,
• between the municipality of Sânmartin, with a population of over 12,000, to the south-east, and the spa resorts of Băile 1 Mai and Băile Felix,
• and in a westerly direction to the municipalities of Sântandrei and Cheresig,
• and the village of Bors on the Hungarian border.

The works will involve the upgrading of existing high-speed rail and tram tracks. Where necessary, the tracks will also be electrified. Existing stations, platforms and pedestrian crossings will be renewed and new ones will be built in some places.

Tram-train carriages will be able to travel three kilometres without overhead wires

Adrian Revnic, General Manager of the Oradea transport company Oradea Transport Local S.A. (OTL), said that the project was divided into eight parts. Each of them will be put out to tender: seven for infrastructure solutions and seven for vehicles, which will be purchased in a separate procurement. The first tenders will be for the design, and in a few months' time the work will move on to the construction.

Club Feroviar reports that eleven vehicles will be acquired for the service: eight electric-battery hybrid railcars and five electric-only motor coaches. All the vehicles will be able to use both the 25 kilovolt alternating current (AC) system of the high-speed railways and the 600 volt DC system of the light railways. What's more, the tramtrain cars will be able to travel three kilometres without overhead wires thanks to their built-in batteries.