The works on the railway tunnels on the Mureș Valley, built on the new route of Simeria – Arad, accumulates new delays, and because of this the section on which it is will not be completed this year.
The tunnels on the Mureș Valley. Photo: Daniel Guță. TRUTH
The railway tunnels built on the left bank of Mureș, near Zam (Hunedoara county), will be among the most spectacular railway infrastructure works carried out in the last decades in Romania. They are part of the Ilteu-Gurasada lot of the bus, entered the site in 2018.
The latest works, at tunnels
The works started six years ago, however, are far from completing.
“Lot 2C Ilteu-Gurasada does not even discuss for 2025, the stage being 74 percent with a tunnel blocked at geotechnical level and another unstoppable“, Inform, recently, the Pro Infrastructure Association, which monitors large rail and road projects in Romania.
Due to the delays, the section could be performed at the earliest in December 2026, estimates the Romanian railways, in the Report on February on the stage of the execution of Simeria – Arad (until km 614).
The new railway Simeria – Arad, with a length of 141 kilometers, crosses the counties of Hunedoara and Arad on the Mureș Valley, partially replacing the route of the first railway in Transylvania, Arad – Simeria – Alba Iulia, inaugurated in 1868. The investment was divided into four sections, for which the contracts were signed in 2017 three years.
The works aimed at modernizing the railway infrastructure and reconfiguring the route, so that the speed of trains can increase to 160 kilometers per hour.
The project imposed the construction of 60 kilometers of completely new railway between Simeria and Arad, of some tunnels, but also the lifting of nine bridges over Mureș, while the only bridge over Mureș located on the old route, in Brănișca, will no longer be used on the new route. Two sections, one in Arad county, the other in Hunedoara, both with lengths of over 40 kilometers, could be made in 2025.
The first completed section, expected in the summer of 2025
According to CFR, on subtronson 2A: km 614 – Bârzava (41.9 kilometers), the stage of the works is 96.5%, and the estimated term of completion is June 2025.
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Railway tunnels on the Mureș Valley Photo Daniel Guță Adevărul (1) JPG
“Receptions were made at the end of parts of objectives, according to the legislation in force, on a length of 13.75 kilometers of railway between km 614 and Păuliș. In December 2024, receptions were made for parts of infrastructure and CF superstructure, consolidations, bridges and bridges, during the Bârzava Nouă (28)”shows the report recently published by CFR.
On this subtronson were provided 15 bridges, two of which over the Mureș river, 39 bridges and a lower passage.
On the subtronson 2B: Bârzava – Ilteu (36 kilometers), the progress is 93.4 percent, and the estimated term of completion of the section is February 2026. On it is the Bătuța tunnel, located between the localities of Bârzava and Vărădia, from Arad.
The works also include the construction of 15 bridges (of which two over the Mureș river), 24 bridges, three upper passages and several lower passages.
The tunnels and bridges on the Mureș Valley
On subtronson 2C: Ilteu – Gurasada (22.3 kilometers), the builders made 74.9% of the works, the deadline for completing the entire section being December 2026.
On the section between Arad and Hunedoara counties, two tunnels and a polar (wall tunnel) are built, with a total length of about 1.2 kilometers. The project provides for the construction of a 268 -meter tunnel, a 678 meter tunnel and a tunnel, the distance between the two tunnels being 431 meters.
The tunnels on the Mureș Valley are made by the new Austrian method of tunnel construction (NATM), their vault being covered with toncored concrete, capable of supporting weight and reducing the bending of galleries. But at the Great Tunnel, the works are just beginning.
Within the investment are also provided infrastructure works that include 15 bridges (two over the Mureș River), 17 bridges, a upper passage, three lower passages and two tunnels.
The section of the three bridges over Mureș
On section 3: Gurasada – Simeria (41 kilometers), the works reached 87.4%, and the completion is estimated in December 2025.
On this section are built 17 new bridges, three of them over the Mureș river, 27 bridges, four upper passages (Deva, Mintia, Ilia, Gurasada) and two lower passages (Săulești and Ilia).
