Nicușor Dan’s project, the Bucharest-Ilfov Metropolitan Train, will cost 962 million euros and will have a demand of 86,000 passengers/day. What experts say about the usefulness of a train around the capital

According to the analysis of the Intercommunity Development Association for Public Transport Bucharest-Ilfov (TPBI) provided at the request of G4Media.ro, the Bucharest-Ilfov Metropolitan Train will cost 962 million euros. Of this, €614 million represents the purchase of new trains, and the rest would be used to modernize stations, build new stops and upgrade some railway level crossings. The first phase of the investment plan will cost €116 million. 

The sources of funding are: European funds, funds from the local budgets of the member municipalities (including Bucharest City Hall) and the County Council. 

According to official data sent to G4Media.ro, the daily demand for the Metropolitan Train is estimated at 82,000 passengers, i.e. 24.6 million journeys per year. 

 However, many urban mobility specialists consulted by G4Media.ro argue that the Metropolitan Train will not do much for the citizens of Bucharest or the Ilfov region because in many parts of the city there are no urban agglomerations, but rather very sparsely populated areas. 

For example, on the Obor-Gara de Nord Station route, the train will run for a good part through empty field (Obor-Andronache-Petricani-Băneasa). TBPI estimates that on this route there will be a demand of 5,900 passengers per day. 

The TPBI failed to tell us at what intervals the trains will arrive in the stations and what impact their movement will have on traffic. In an official reply from the Romanian Railways Company (CFR) to G4Media.ro sent some time ago, it said that „waiting time at a level crossing with an automatic barrier is a minimum of 50 seconds and a maximum of 154 seconds.” Moreover, regarding the level crossing at Petricani Road, located on the 800 Bucharest-Constanța main line, CFR said that „on average 50 trains run in 24 hours, the barrier is operated by approx. 50 times”. 

The Mayor General of the Capital Nicușor Dan sees precisely this portion as an opportunity or, in other words, the starting point of the project. 

„Probably the moment when we will have all the lines modernized will be around 2026-2027. But in the meantime, on the segments where it is possible to operate, we intend – there is an opportunity in the northern area, where the network is good – and we want to have the lines running in one year, from now, on Gara de Nord – Gara Obor, Gara de Vest – Gara de Nord and Gara de Vest – Gara Obor; the first and the third passing through Pipera”, declared the Mayor of the Capital Nicușor Dan. 

What specialists say 

„Unfortunately, the metropolitan train story is being rolled out in Bucharest in a way that defies logic because it does not take into account either the needs of the people or the costs. Yes, people need to travel in the metropolitan area. But the first condition for such travel is that it should be done in a shorter time or at least similar to driving. 

If we look at the map of the metropolitan train routes we see very convoluted lines and only a few direct lines. That means long journeys that are unlikely to persuade a (very) large number of people to choose this mode of travel. Trains are a high-capacity mode of transportation that, in the absence of a large flow of passengers, will generate very high losses. 

This is why I say that I have not noticed that these aspects have been taken into consideration: travel time, STB’s capacity to take hundreds of thousands of new passengers from the train stations, and what the cost of the trip will be (both for the user and for the administration). Prioritizing public transport, making public space accessible to the needs of people with disabilities, parking management and the creation of bicycle infrastructure are just some of the projects envisaged in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan that could have been carried out in a low-cost and extraordinarily efficient mandate for mobility in the metropolitan area. 

But 5 years have passed since the adoption of the PMUD and not a single mayor has had the courage to implement these vital projects. In my opinion as an observer of local administrations over the last 12 years in the Capital, I can say that mayors often put forward projects with long deadlines and huge budgets precisely to try to hide their inability to carry out effective projects with small budgets. „The ‘metropolitan train’, in its current version, is such a project,” Marian Ivan, president of the Organisation for the Promotion of Alternative Transport in Romania (OPTAR), told G4Media.ro. 

Article translated from Romanian