The contract gets EUR740 million co-financing from the European Union and targets upgrade works on 89.5 kilometers of rail line.
Transport Minister Relu Fenechiu said it is the biggest financing contract signed through the Transport Sector Operations Program (T-SOP).
Fenechiu also said that CFR SA, which administers the rail infrastructure, has so far signed, through this program, 18 contracts worth RON11.5 billion. He added that upgrade works set off in March-April 2012 and are due for completion in June 2015.
The Sighisoara-Coslariu rail section is part of the Brasov-Simeria railway, part of the fourth Pan-European corridor. After the finalization of works, passenger and freight trains would reach speeds of up to 160 km/hour and 120 km/hour, respectively.
In January this year, CFR awarded a contract worth RON498.2 million, net of VAT, to the consortium Alstom Transport – Alcatel Lucent Romania – PAS 97 for upgrades on rail sections Coslariu (Alba county) – Simeria (Hunedoara county) and Coslariu – Sighisoara (Mures county).
The project will take 40 months and targets upgrade works on railway signaling and communications and control systems.