The nol.hu report claims that Bucharest (Romania) just bought new carriages from CAF for the same amount that BKK is spending on the refurbishments, therefore runners-up could potentially provide the replacement of the current carriages with brand new vehicles.

Siemens, Skoda and Alstom (the supplier of Hungarian metro line 4 carriages) are expected to be among the runners-up for the tender. However, according to nol.hu, the only bidders Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has thus far discussed the bid with is an unnamed Russian firm. The discussion reportedly took place during Szijjártó’s recent trip to Russia, nol.hu said, citing unnamed sources.

According to the tender description, the winner of the project will be selected according to strict criteria and would have a total of 39 months to complete the project. Mayor István Tarlós said in September that the tender for the renovation of the carriages would be called in a few weeks and no action has been taken until now.