The Alstom Metropolis BM4 (Bucharest Metro 4th generation) is a family of metros designed for the

Bucharest Metro The Bucharest Metro () is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the larger Transport in Bucharest, B ...

, with 13 six-car trainsets currently built by

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

at the

Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the state of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. History Taubaté was part of the ancient Tupinambá Territory, along the Paraíba do Sul River. The Tupinambá Territory in the 16th century, stretched from ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

plant as of 2023. As of November 2024, the train 1402-2402 "Giurgiu" commenced dynamic tests on line M2 between Berceni and Tudor Arghezi, with CBTC testing on line M5 being reserved for summer 2025.

History

The trains were ordered on November 3, 2020, after more than a year of tendering with

, CAF,

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

, Metrowagonmash and a consortium of Astra Vagoane Călători and

CRRC Qingdao Sifang CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. () is a Chinese rolling stock manufacturer based in Qingdao, Shandong province. Founded in 1900 during the Kiautschou Bay concession, German occupation, Qingdao Sifang is one of the oldest rolling stock manufacturers ...

being the bidders. This order comes after the failed 2015 framework agreement order for 51 trains initially signed with CAF, which was cancelled due to corruption allegations between Metrorex and CAF during the tendering process. The contract signed with Alstom consists in 13 trains to operate on the first phase of line M5, with an additional 17 units as an option, which are destined for the second phase of line M5 between Eroilor and Piața Iancului. The units would be built at Alstom's plant in

, which was expanded in November 2022 in anticipation of the contracts signed in Bucharest, Taipei, São Paulo and Santiago de Chile. Deliveries were expected for the summer of 2022, though multiple delays were encountered by Alstom during the production of the BM4 pushing the date to April 2024, ultimately leading Metrorex to apply penalties of upwards of 20 million euros. Alstom cited the COVID-19 pandemic and the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

as the main reasons of the delays due to supply chain issues caused by these events, alongside a 50 meter S-curve near the Romancierilor station instead of a 100 meter S-curve specified in the requirements, leading to Metrorex rejecting the prototype and having Alstom to redesign the car bodies. Ultimately in January 2024, Metrorex accepted the revised version of the BM4 in the form of the unit 1402-2402 "Giurgiu", giving the green light for the series production. Delays are also caused by the shipping system. Alstom hasn't found any company to ship the BM4s directly to Romania via the

Port of Constanța The Port of Constanța is located in Constanța, Romania, on the western coast of the Black Sea, from the Bosphorus Strait and from the Sulina Branch, through which the Danube river flows into the sea. It covers , of which is land and the re ...

, due to the possible threat of Russian mines being present in the Black Sea, leading Alstom to ship the trains to the

Port of Hamburg The Port of Hamburg (, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (), it is the country's largest seaport by volume. In terms of TEU throughput, Hambur ...

by sea, and by road to Bucharest.

Design and features

The BM4 reuses and refines the Vagn 2000 basis for the design, introduced with the Bombardier MOVIA 346 trainsets and later refined with the

CAF Inneo BM3 CAF or caf may refer to: Armed forces *Canadian Armed Forces (Canadian Forces), the Canadian Air Force, Army, and Navy *Canadian Air Force, now the Royal Canadian Air Force *Republic of China Air Force, the air force of the Republic of China (Tai ...

trainsets. The front is inspired after the final Bombardier MOVIA design language before Alstom's takeover in 2021, resulting in a similar front to Singapore's MOVIA R151. The livery is similar to the CAF Inneo BM3, though with an orange stripe signifying their use on line M5. As usual the trainsets are configured in a R1–MP1–M1–M2–MP2–R2 formation, with R meaning Trailer Car (), MP being Power Car with Shunting Pantograph () and M being Power Car (Motor). It includes several upgrades. Passenger ventilation is now powered by six large HVAC units, a first for the Bucharest Metro, alongside the enhanced security with CCTV cameras, better passenger information with LCD displays, larger windows and stainless steel seats. The cabs can be easily dismantled for driverless operation in the future. BM4 map

Roster

Like the Bombardier MOVIA 346 and CAF Inneo BM3 trainsets, the Alstom Metropolis BM4s are baptized by Metrorex, in this case after Romanian counties. * 1401-2401 " Ilfov" * 1402-2402 "

Giurgiu Giurgiu (; ; ) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the op ...

" * 1403-2403 " Teleorman" * 1404-2404 " Sălaj" * 1405-2405 "

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

" * 1406-2406 "

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

" * 1407-2407 "

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

" * 1408-2408 "

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

" * 1409-2409 "

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

" * 1410-2410 "

Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...

" * 1411-2411 * 1412-2412 * 1413-2413

References

External links

Alstom Metropolis BM4 on the Metrou Ușor Forum
{{in lang, ro Electric multiple units of Romania 750 V DC multiple units Alstom multiple units Train-related introductions in 2025

History

Design and features

Roster

See also

References

External links