Romania has just adopted the strategic and financial framework that will govern railway investment for the next five years. For international contractors and engineering groups, this signals a significant pipeline of upcoming tenders — and a market that will need experienced local partners to navigate it.
The headline: a five-year plan to rebuild a worn-out network
In an extraordinary session on 19 August 2026, the Government of Romania approved the Railway Infrastructure Development Strategy 2026–2030, on the initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI). The following day, 20 August 2026, the Government approved the Activity and Performance Contract of CFR SA for 2026–2030, unblocking state-budget financing for the national rail infrastructure manager.
Together, these two documents form the legal and financial backbone for the coming cycle of railway investment. The strategy updates and continues the previous Railway Infrastructure Development Strategy 2021–2025 and the Transport Infrastructure Investment Programme 2021–2030, and is correlated with Romania’s General Transport Master Plan (GTMP) and the EU’s TEN-T corridors.
Why now: the scale of the problem
The strategy responds to a network in critical condition after decades of underfinancing:
- By 2025, 72.56% of the analysed network — some 9,753 km of track — had reached the end of its technical service life, a figure that doubled in just 15 years (from around 10% in 1990).
- The maintenance-and-repair deficit alone has exceeded RON 12 billion (approx. €2.37 billion).
- Instead of the previously targeted 25% growth, rail traffic fell — passenger volumes down over 2% and rail freight down nearly 23%.
The strategy sets three strategic objectives, with prioritised financing:
- Objective 0 — accelerated recovery of the backlog in railway infrastructure renewal;
- Objective A — increased competitiveness of rail transport on the domestic market (faster, safer, more predictable trains);
- Objective B — integration into the Single European Railway Area, in line with Romania’s EU obligations.
The financing framework
The investment cycle is underpinned by a substantial external-financing programme:
- A Government-approved programme of European Investment Bank (EIB) loans totalling up to €4.975 billion, dedicated to strategic infrastructure projects under the Transport Programme 2021–2027 and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
- Modernisation is explicitly framed as dual-use infrastructure — serving both civilian mobility and EU military-mobility and network-resilience objectives.
Flagship projects already moving
Several major projects have advanced to concrete financing and procurement milestones in mid-2026:
Brașov–Sighișoara
- Line length: 112.55 km, designed for speeds of up to 160 km/h for passenger trains.
- Total estimated value: approx. €2.25 billion (VAT included).
- A €630 million EIB loan was approved to support the national co-financing contribution.
- Execution began in 2020, with completion of the full project estimated for 2029. Part of the Rhine–Danube Corridor.
Brașov–Simeria (Rhine–Danube Corridor)
- On 20 August 2026, the Government approved the launch of expropriation procedures for the Brașov–Sighișoara section (sub-sections Brașov–Apața and Cața–Sighișoara), designed for a maximum speed of 160 km/h — a clear sign the works are progressing toward execution.
Roman–Iași–Frontier — Phase 1: Iași–Frontier electrification
- Approved 18 June 2026.
- A 23.4 km “light modernization” and electrification of the existing route, designed to improve operational speed without leaving the rail corridor and to avoid unnecessary expropriations.
- Total value: approx. RON 495.3 million (approx. €97.7 million), execution duration 18 months, beneficiary CFR SA.
Related road and network decisions
Alongside rail, the Government has kept up momentum on the wider transport network — including the Satu Mare–Baia Mare express road (approx. RON 5 billion / ~€986 million) and the Suceava–Siret project (over RON 7.4 billion / ~€1.46 billion, part of the TEN-T network) approved earlier in 2026.
What this means for contractors and engineering groups
A programme of this scale — combining accelerated renewal of thousands of kilometres of track with high-speed corridor modernisation, electrification, tunnels and stations — will generate a steady flow of design, works and supervision tenders over the next five years. Success in the Romanian market depends on more than technical capability: it requires rigorous tender preparation, fluency in national procurement rules (Law 98/2016 and Law 99/2016), design coordination, and construction supervision aligned with both Romanian and EU requirements.
This is precisely where an experienced local partner makes the difference between a competitive bid and a missed opportunity.
M Infra Design & Management follows major public-infrastructure and railway tenders across Romania, supporting international contractors and engineering groups with tender management, design coordination, technical assistance and construction supervision. If your organisation is considering the Romanian rail market, we can help you assess the pipeline and prepare.
Contact: contact@infradandb.com · infradandb.com · Justiției Street no. 45, Sector 4, Bucharest
Sources: Romanian Government communiqués (sessions of 18 June, 30 July, 19 and 20 August 2026); Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. RON/EUR conversions are approximate and indicative; please refer to the official BNR exchange rate of the day for exact figures. Figures reflect information available as of late August 2026 and may change as projects progress.
