Siemens to deploy 12 new hydrogen-powered trains in Romania

Siemens Mobility Association will supply 12 hydrogen fuel cell electric trains to the Romanian Railway Reform Authority (RRA), fulfilling a repeatedly cancelled $373m tender.

The German technology conglomerate, which was the sole bidder, was granted the tender to deploy the trains across Romania.

The award follows the successful completion of financial and technical evaluations by the RRA and the approval of the country’s National Authority for Public Procurement.

Siemens will also provide maintenance support for 30 years, with a potential 30-year extension subject to a review clause in the contract.

The tender has been cancelled three times since its initial launch in 2023 – twice due to a lack of bids and once due to the submission of a non-compliant bid.

It was relaunched in late 2024, having lost the support of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The RRA said it is attempting to source new financing to implement the project previously slated as worth over $868m.

Seven of Siemens’ hydrogen-powered Mireo Plus H trains were first commercially deployed in 2024 on a line in Germany. The firm also began producing a set of trains for use on Germany’s Südostabyernbahn network.

The trains use a 1.7MW fuel cell system combined with batteries to travel up to 1,200km on one tank of fuel.

Hydrogen trains in Europe have faced significant barriers in the past two years, with fuel disruptions and the reliability of parts taking some fleets out of action.

While large portions of mature rail networks are already highly electrified, proponents claim hydrogen solutions could help replace diesel trains on long-haul non-electrified lines.