Budapest-Bucharest train stranded for five hours after third RELOC locomotive failure since December
Train IR 12079 stopped between Caracal and Fărcășele after locomotive EA 014 broke down. The modernised unit, still under warranty from RELOC Craiova, caused an estimated five-hour delay.
## Incident On Sunday, 19 July 2026, train IR 12079 travelling from Budapest to Bucharest Nord came to a standstill on the open line between Caracal and Fărcășele stations in Olt County, Romania. The hauling locomotive, an electric unit designated EA 014, suffered an accidental defect. CFR Călători, the state passenger railway company, issued a statement confirming the stoppage.
Train IR 12079, running on the Budapest-Bucharest Nord route, is stationary on the open line between Caracal and Fărcașele stations following the accidental failure of the hauling locomotive EA 014, which is still within the warranty period provided by SC RELOC SA Craiova.
By midday, the train was showing an estimated delay of around five hours for its arrival at Bucharest North, according to the railway publication Club Feroviar. Passengers were stranded with no immediate alternative transport.
## Response CFR Călători dispatched a replacement locomotive to the site to allow the service to resume. At the same time, intervention teams from RELOC Craiova, the company that modernised the locomotive and is responsible for its maintenance and warranty obligations, were also sent to the location.
The operator apologised to affected passengers for the disruption and said it was making every effort to restore the service safely as quickly as possible.
A pattern of failures
The breakdown is the third such incident involving a RELOC-modernised locomotive in less than eight months. In December 2025, locomotive ELASMO 005, also modernised by RELOC, failed while hauling an InterRegio train, causing a delay of more than 200 minutes until a replacement locomotive arrived. In January 2026, locomotive ELASMO 007 broke down while pulling the international train IRN 79 on the same Budapest Keleti-Bucharest Nord route.
- ELASMO 005 fails while hauling an InterRegio train, causing over 200 minutes delay
- ELASMO 007 fails while pulling IRN 79 Budapest-Bucharest Nord
- EA 014 fails on IR 12079 Budapest-Bucharest Nord, causing an estimated five-hour delay
All three locomotives were still under warranty at the time of their failures, raising concerns about the reliability of the modernisation programme.
The locomotive
EA 014 is part of the EA family of electric locomotives originally built at Electroputere Craiova under licence from the Swedish company ASEA. Many units from this series have been modernised to extend their operational life on passenger services. RELOC SA, based in Craiova, carried out the modernisation of EA 014 and remains contractually bound to cover repairs under the active warranty.
The company's technical staff were expected to inspect the defective unit on site and determine the cause of the failure.
What next
CFR Călători has not yet provided a revised arrival time for the delayed service. The replacement locomotive was expected to couple with the stranded train and continue the journey to Bucharest Nord. Passengers were advised to monitor official channels for updates.
No injuries or safety risks were reported. The incident adds to a series of disruptions on Romania's international rail corridors, though the operator has not indicated any broader fleet-wide measures.
