The Bucharest metro will halt operations in September 2026 if the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry fails to pay the legally required compensation, the Metro Free Union (USLM) warned on Wednesday in a statement.
USLM accused acting Transport Minister Radu Miruta of pushing "two reheated and unrealistic narratives" - that Metrorex is a "black hole" for the economy and that integrated metropolitan transport is the only way to save the metro. The union argues the minister is using these themes amid political turmoil, saying: "We still respect the office of the very eager and 'savior-inclined' minister, who jumps to defend the metro's electricity supplier. He forgets Metrorex is run under OUG 109/2011 and he cannot directly interfere in its management."
The union said Metrorex's debts stem from the Ministry's failure to pay compensation on time. "In 2026 the compensation is RON 450 million below what the public-service contract stipulates," USLM noted, adding that the same happened in 2025, when payments were RON 350 million short. "The minister's claim that money put into Metrorex 'never shows up' is completely false and defamatory. In just two years you generated a RON 800 million shortfall by not paying compensation. Metrorex is not a black hole it is a company whose shareholders do not capitalize it and whose state partner does not respect its contractual obligations."
On proposals to place the metro under the authority of Bucharest City Hall, USLM said the idea is not new but unrealistic: "The Bucharest City Hall cannot even sustain itself, being in undeclared bankruptcy - STB insolvent, Termoenergetica nearly so - also because compensation was not paid on time."
The union urged the minister to "stop spreading false news" and stop pitting Bucharesters against residents of other cities or metro workers against passengers. "Metro workers do their job, the wheels turn. If he wants to be the savior of the metro, he should pay the compensation. There are over 600,000 passengers a day, and the metro brings daily benefits to 4 million people. Attention: without compensation, the metro will stop in September 2026," USLM said.
Acting Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Radu Miruta wrote on Facebook that Metrorex consumes around EUR 1 million worth of electricity per month but has not paid its bills for the past three months. He said the company received a notification from Hidroelectrica. "We are not in a situation where Metrorex will be disconnected; a negotiation for staggered payments is underway. Meanwhile, I extended the Control Body's mission at Metrorex because money is not used efficiently there," Miruta said on Monday evening.
Metrorex responded Tuesday that it is making daily payments to Hidroelectrica to progressively reduce and clear outstanding obligations. "The value of current obligations is now lower than the consumption of a single month," the company said. AGERPRES
