Indicators for the modernisation of the Bucharest-Giurgiu railway on the Government

Indicators for the modernisation of the Bucharest-Giurgiu railway on the Government's table

The Victoria Palace informed that the Executive will discuss on Thursday the draft Government Decision for the approval of the technical-economic indicators of the investment objective "Modernisation of the railway infrastructure between the stations C.F. Bucharest North - Jilava - Giurgiu North - Giurgiu North Border", a work of public utility of national interest. The project was put out for public consultation by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in early November.

Line 102 has been closed to trains since 2005, when the Grădiștea bridge collapsed, so passenger and freight trains were diverted to the Bucharest North-Videle-Giurgiu North-Giurgiu North Frontier route (Magistrala 100 and then section 103), over a distance of 119.4 km, 30 km more than the direct connection (line 102).

Lot 1 of the Bucharest North-Giurgiu North Frontier line is currently under construction between km 18+180 (Y end of Vidra station) and km 30+200 (Y end of Comana station), through the project "Modernisation of the C.F. Bucharest North-Jilava-Giurgiu North-Giurgiu North Frontier Line, Lot 1: Reopening of Railway Traffic on the Bridge over the Arges River, between Vidra and Comana".

Modernisation of the Bucharest-Giurgiu railway will cost €580 million

The total value of the investment (including VAT) is 2,891,566 thousand lei, equivalent to approximately 580 million euro, of which the actual construction-assembly works (including VAT) - 2,179,412 thousand lei (438 million euro);

Upgraded railway line - 55 km;

Electrified power line - 88 km;

Duration of investment: 36 months.

Financing will be through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) under the Cohesion Fund, with co-financing from the state budget.

The current technical status of the railway line is presented in the Background Note. This shows that there are irregularities in the track plan (broken sections) only at the ends of the switches and crossings. In cross-section, the track profile is not well defined. The edge of the CF platform cannot be identified on the ground.

The track shows defects, especially on the running surface: chipping, burrs, skidding and material detachments. There are parts of the route where the rail shows very high vertical wear. Many of the concrete sleepers have cracks in the central area at the top. On the direct line, the broken stone prism is clogged at the base, on the other lines in the stations it is clogged entirely. There are portions where the sleepers are stripped of broken stone, and vegetation is present at the edge of the broken stone prism, but also between the lines.

At the same time, all the level crossings have degraded concrete slabs and require replacement, and the artwork - bridges and bridges - is degraded. Passenger buildings, CED buildings, platforms and footbridges are functionally and structurally degraded and do not comply with current standards. On the other hand, the CED (electrodynamic centralisation) installations are morally and physically worn, most of them having been installed after 1975. The BLA automatic line block installation is out of service on the Jilava-Vidra, Vidra-Grădiștea, Grădiștea-Comana, Comana-Mihai Bravu, Mihai Bravu-Băneasa Giurgiu, Băneasa, Giurgiu-Daia, Daia-Frățești stations.

"In these conditions of accelerated degradation, there is a risk of disturbances that may affect traffic safety with catastrophic consequences," the document states.