The Romanian Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure has launched a groundbreaking ceremony for the Construction of Cluj-Napoca metro Line 1. 

The first driverless metro will cover a 21 km route with 19 stations. Starting at Țara Moților in Florești, the Y-shaped line will pass through Mănăștur and the future regional hospital to Piața Mărăști, where it will split. One branch will serve the Muncii industrial area via an interchange with the national railway, while the other will go to Europa Unită through Gheorgheni and Sopor. The project, estimated at RON 13.7 billion (US$ 2.9 billion), is funded by Romania’s National Recovery & Resilience Plan, with RON 10 billion (US$ 2.1 billion) from the national government and RON 1.48 billion (US$ 317 million) from the European Union.

A RON 9 billion (US$ 1.9 billion) contract for design and construction was awarded in May 2023 to a consortium of Gulermak, Alstom, and Arcada. The line is expected to open in 2031, with the first seven stations potentially ready by 2026. EU funding requires the first phase to be operational within four years. The metro will operate with 26 three-car trains, each with a capacity of up to 540 passengers, and is projected to carry 164,000 passengers daily.