CNCF CFR SA, Romania’s rail infrastructure manager, published on 19 October 2026 the CFR track renewal tender CN1097452: “Maintenance works by consecutive replacement of track superstructure components”. The procedure covers seven framework agreements, one per regional branch, each for 48 months. The total estimated value is RON 4,091,513,503 excluding VAT, approximately EUR 770 million at RON 5.31/EUR. Bids are due on 23 November 2026, 15:00.
This is the successor of the 2022 eight-lot procedure. For contractors with AFER authorisation and recent track experience, it is four years of predictable work. For everyone else, the entry conditions are tight and the time is short.
Key data
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Notice | CN1097452, published 19.10.2026 |
| Contracting authority | CNCF CFR SA (Direcția Linii) |
| Procedure | Open procedure, sectoral procurement law (Law 99/2016) |
| CPV | 45234100-7 Railway construction works |
| Lots | 7: Bucharest (1), Craiova (2), Timișoara (3), Cluj (4), Brașov (5), Galați (7), Constanța (8). There is no lot 6. |
| Value per lot | RON 584,501,929 excl. VAT (approx. EUR 110 million), identical for all lots |
| Duration | 48 months per framework agreement |
| Subsequent contracts | Signed at regional branch level, within allocated funds, maximum two per year per lot |
| Funding | State budget (Title 51, infrastructure maintenance). Not EU-funded. |
| Award criterion | Best price-quality ratio: price 75%, works warranty 25% |
| Bid guarantee | RON 1,460,000 (approx. EUR 275,000) per lot, valid 6 months from the deadline |
| Performance guarantee | 10% of each subsequent contract |
| Bid validity | Until 23.05.2027 |
| Language | Romanian |
| Deadline | 23.11.2026, 15:00 |
What the work involves
The contractor replaces the track superstructure on running and through lines using new materials only. Rails, sleepers, fastenings, ballast, switches and level-crossing elements are supplied by the contractor. The track sub-layer (PSS) is rebuilt over the length of switches and level crossings, where the ballast is replaced entirely. The result is continuous welded rail and the removal of speed restrictions.
The technical specification reportedly requires 60E1 rail in R350HT heat-treated steel, prestressed concrete monoblock sleepers with elastic fastenings, crushed stone category A (31.5–50 mm, igneous rock), and S60E1-300-1:9 switches and TJD 60E1-190-1:9 double slips with cast manganese frogs. Flash-butt welding is the standard; aluminothermic welding only in isolated cases.
The split of tasks matters for planning. The contractor dismantles and lays track, supplies materials, welds and builds the sub-layer. Mechanised tamping, profiling, lining and dynamic stabilisation stay with CFR, as does de-energising the overhead line.
Works run under possessions: daily 8-hour closures on single-track lines, permanent closure of one track on double-track lines. A track may be closed for at most 180 days. Each subsequent contract must be completed within 300 calendar days of the start order, issued within 30 days of signature.
Volumes in the CFR track renewal tender
Quantities are expressed in kilometres of work. Each lot provides for 5 to 25 km per year, i.e. 20 to 100 km over four years. Across seven lots: 140 to 700 km in total.
The largest subsequent contract is 25 km. For that size, the bill of quantities reportedly includes about 3,000 tonnes of 60E1 rail, 41,675 concrete sleepers and 70,000 tonnes of ballast.
Dividing the lot value by the 100 km maximum gives roughly RON 5.85 million (approx. EUR 1.1 million) per km excl. VAT. This is a simple division of the ceiling, not a unit price from the documentation. Do not use it to price the bid.
The practical point: the RON 584.5 million per lot is a ceiling. The guaranteed floor is 20 km. Actual volume depends on yearly state-budget allocations to CFR. The documents do not identify the sections to be renewed; these are set at each subsequent contract, by urgency.
Qualification requirements
As reported from the notice:
- Similar experience: track works totalling at least 25 km in the last five years, in at most five contracts, regardless of the lot. The reports do not say whether the 25 km applies per lot or once for several lots; check the data sheet.
- AFER railway supplier authorisation and technical approval (agrement tehnic), valid for construction, rehabilitation, modernisation, repair and maintenance of track and for rail and switch welding. These cannot be provided through third-party support.
- ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 or equivalent.
- Turnover and other economic requirements: not stated in the information available at publication; check the data sheet.
- Number of operators per framework agreement: not stated in the information available at publication. The 2022 procedure provided for up to three operators per lot; check the data sheet.
How the award will actually be decided
Warranty counts for 25%, but it is capped. The minimum is 36 months; 48 months earns the maximum score; longer periods add nothing. Every serious bidder will offer 48 months. In practice, price decides.
That raises two risks. First, aggressive pricing and abnormally-low-price clarifications. Second, a four-year commitment on rail, steel and ballast prices. Whether the draft framework agreement includes a price adjustment clause is decisive for a 48-month bid. Check it first.
The warranty on supplied materials is at least 60 months. Defects must be addressed on site within 48 hours of notification and remedied within 60 days.
What this means for foreign contractors
- AFER is the gatekeeper. A contractor without its own valid AFER authorisation and technical approval cannot rely on a partner’s. Obtaining them is not a five-week exercise. A foreign firm without AFER status realistically enters only through an association in which it is clear how each member meets the requirement. Check in the documentation how the AFER condition applies to each association member and subcontractor.
- Romanian-language bid. All documents are submitted in Romanian. Allow time for certified translations of experience certificates.
- Materials supply chain. The contractor buys the materials. Secured supply of R350HT rail and concrete sleepers over four years is part of the bid, not an afterthought.
- Interface with CFR. Tamping, possessions and power isolation depend on CFR. Delays on CFR’s side are a real schedule risk inside a 300-day contract.
- Cash and guarantees. RON 1.46 million bid guarantee per lot, then 10% performance guarantee on each subsequent contract. Bidding for several lots multiplies the bank exposure.
The previous round
CFR ran a comparable procedure in 2022: eight lots, a maximum of 1,461 km, four-year frameworks, financed from the state budget. CFR reported ten bidders, among them Yapı Merkezi, Salcef and Arcada Company. The Iași regional branch was tendered separately in January 2023, with a maximum value of about RON 531 million.
The current procedure skips lot 6. The documents reportedly give no explanation. We have not confirmed whether this relates to the Iași regional branch (SRCF 6).
Key dates
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 19.10.2026 | Notice published in SEAP |
| approx. 01.11.2026 | Last day for clarification requests (22nd day before the deadline – verify the exact date in SEAP) |
| 23.11.2026, 15:00 | Bid deadline, all lots |
| 23.05.2027 | Bid validity expires |
Our view
This tender rewards contractors already on the Romanian network: AFER-authorised, with recent track kilometres and a materials supply in place. For a foreign contractor without AFER status, the realistic route is an association with a qualified Romanian or EU partner, decided now, not in mid-November.
M Infra supports bidders on Romanian rail tenders: review of the tender documentation, qualification check, association structuring, DUAE and Romanian-language bid preparation. Contact us to discuss a bid.
Sources: SEAP notice CN1097452 e-licitatie.ro.
