How Eastship Delivered the "Moles" Modernizing Romania's Railways

Project Type: Oversize Transport & Infrastructure Logistics

Distance: 500+ km

Route: Constanța Port – DN1 / Prahova Valley – Project Site

Cargo: Heavy-lift Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Components

The modernization of the 128-kilometer railway section between Sighișoara and Brașov stands as a transformative milestone in Romania’s transportation landscape. By upgrading this bottlenecked route, the project overhauled local infrastructure, allowing passenger trains to jump from a modest 40 km/h to speeds of up to 160 km/h and significantly cutting travel times between these two major economic and tourist hubs.

As the strategic logistics partner for this landmark infrastructure development, we managed the complete transport engineering and overland delivery of the massive Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs)—affectionately known as “cârtițele” (the moles)—to their designated launch sites.

The Scope of the Project

The wider project undertaken by CNCF CFR SA and the Railworks consortium required a massive overhaul of civil engineering along the route, including:

• Station Rehabilitation: Full modernization of the Racoș, Mateiaș, and Ormeniș stations.

• Structures: Construction of two overpasses, seven bridges, three viaducts, and ten high-capacity culverts to handle complex terrain drainage.

• The Tunnels: The absolute core of the project involved boring two double-tube galleries: the 7-kilometer Ormeniș gallery and the 5-kilometer Homorod gallery.

To drill through the mountainous terrain, four state-of-the-art TBMs were deployed. Working on a 24/7 schedule, 6 days a week, with an average advance rate of 15 meters per day, the 7 km tunnel was completed within an estimated 18–19 weeks, and the 5 km tunnel within 14–15 weeks.

Engineering the Logistics: Navigating the Prahova Valley

Moving out-of-gauge, ultra-heavy industrial components over 500 kilometers across Romania requires precise technical planning and rigorous route surveys.

The greatest logistical challenge lay in navigating DN1, particularly through the Prahova Valley—one of the country's most heavily congested and winding mountain corridors.

Logistics & Transport Overview:

TBM Performance & Estimates:

Operational Schedule - 24/7, 6 days a week

Average Advance Rate - 15 meters per day

Ormeniș Tunnel (7 km) - Estimated 18–19 weeks

Homorod Tunnel (5 km) - Estimated 14–15 weeks

Overcoming Key Challenges:

• Full Road Closures: Due to the extreme width of the TBM cutterheads and main drives, specific narrow sections of the Prahova Valley left no room for passing traffic. We coordinated closely with local authorities to implement full, timed night closures, allowing our heavy convoy to pass safely without compromising public safety or road infrastructure.

• Complex Mountain Terrain: Tight radii, low-clearance structures, and steep inclines demanded specialized multi-axle modular trailers and synchronized steering control to safely guide the components through winding passes.

• Phased Delivery Timeline: Each of the four massive TBMs had to arrive in strict alignment with the construction schedule—stretching from the initial launch on June 15 through subsequent arrivals in August and September, right up to the final machine deployment on November 15.

Delivering Results for Romania's Infrastructure

Thanks to the meticulous execution and deep technical expertise of our project cargo team, all TBM components were safely delivered directly to the construction sites, enabling tunneling operations to proceed exactly as scheduled.

This project reinforces our capability to execute high-stakes, highly complex oversize transport operations that directly shape the future of Romania’s industrial and transport networks.