Ciulnița station switched to Hitachi Rail's new ESTW/IXL L90 RO electronic interlocking in December 2025, with Fetești following in June 2026 — the first two installations of the platform on Romania's national network.

The two stations sit on the Bucharest–Constanța main line, which CFR SA's network statement classifies as part of the Rhine–Danube Corridor. CNCF CFR SA, the national infrastructure administrator, awarded the contract to a consortium of Arcada Company and ISPCF, with construction starting in June 2023. Hitachi Rail's L90 RO replaces the SELMIS interlocking equipment that previously controlled train movements at both stations.

What the contract covers

The package includes signalling at Ciulnița and Fetești together with rebuilt track, platforms, overhead power supply and telecommunications systems. CFR's most recent monitoring update, carried by Mediafax in August 2026, puts physical completion at 92.75%.

Hitachi Rail supplies the L90 RO interlocking core; the Arcada–ISPCF consortium delivers the civil engineering, track and supporting systems. The works form part of the wider programme to bring the Bucharest–Constanța corridor up to modern standards, with Constanța serving as Romania's principal Black Sea port.

Why the corridor matters

The Bucharest–Constanța line links Romania's capital to Constanța port and carries both passenger services and freight traffic. CFR lists the route as part of the Rhine–Danube Corridor, the trans-European corridor that runs from the North Sea ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary into Romania.

Replacing SELMIS with a microprocessor-based electronic interlocking aligns the route's safety systems with the interlocking technology in use elsewhere in Europe. ETCS compatibility is a documented feature of the L90 family, although the available reporting does not confirm ETCS Level 2 specifically for the Ciulnița–Fetești section.

The L90 family in Romania

The L90 RO is the Romanian-tuned configuration of Hitachi's L90 electronic interlocking product line. Hitachi has already deployed a related L90 variant on the Ghioroc–Barzava line near the Hungarian border, where the installation supported a speed uplift from 120 to 140 km/h on the western route toward Hungary.

That Ghioroc–Barzava project and the Ciulnița–Fetești work are technically and geographically distinct: one sits on the western route, the other on the southeastern axis to the Black Sea. Hitachi is therefore deploying related L90 interlocking technology on two strategic corridors in different parts of Romania — the western route toward Hungary and the Rhine–Danube axis toward Constanța.

Measured results versus projections

The available reporting does not contain a quantified capacity, reliability or journey-time outcome for Ciulnița and Fetești specifically, so any operational benefit at the two stations remains a projection rather than a measured result. The 120-to-140 km/h uplift on the Ghioroc–Barzava line is the only quantified operational figure cited for any L90 deployment in Romania to date.

What to watch next

Track and platform reconstruction continues at both sites. CFR's wider modernisation pipeline includes ETCS Level 2 and GSM-R rollout on other corridors; the available reporting does not confirm either system for the Ciulnița–Fetești section in a future phase. A decision on ETCS overlay here would shape whether the corridor can host interoperable cross-border services on the Rhine–Danube route, and whether the work at the two stations is treated as a stand-alone modernisation or as a staging post toward full TEN-T compliance.