The CFR Class TEA (also known as Class 55/56/57) was a small series of electric multiple units manufactured in Romania from 1974 to 1986 for CÃÂile Ferate Române. Due to its rarity, not much is known about this trainset, albeit a technical sheet designed for potential export does exist online.
They were built by Electroputere Craiova (electric equipment) and ÃÂntreprinderea de Vagoane Arad (IVA) (railway cars) with the help of the Technological Institute of Research and Designing of Transports (ICPTT) from Bucharest.
In the early to mid-70s, the Romanian Railways was looking for an EMU train design that would replace conventional engine-towed local train consists, and also to work for a possible project that would envisage a regional railway network around Bucharest. The project took shape around 1972âÂÂ1973, being built in 1974.
The prototype was derived from the regional passenger cars named "Bonanza" among the travellers, that were made by the IVA factory. The whole trainset was fitted with Minden-Deutz bogies, especially the motor bogies, and the electric equipment was made together by à  koda and Electroputere and it used thyristors.
It featured a destination board, open-able from the cab, where a cardboard plaque would be placed showing the route of the train, toilets and curtains. The drivers cab was fitted with an automatic door control, which split the door duties between the guard (who would open them) and the driver (who would close them), meaning that this train was designed for two-man crew operation. Aside from this there was also a communication unit where the driver would use a loudspeaker system to talk to passengers.
During 10 years of testing the train was heavily modified, mostly of electrical nature. The prototype was rarely used on Bucharest to BraÃÂov duties (however only as far as Predeal, likely because the steep inclines towards BraÃÂov might have been too much), but also on Bucharest to Craiova or to CÃÂlÃÂraÃÂi trains too. It was withdrawn in the late 1990s. In the old CFR classification it was given the numbers 080-TEA-001/002.
Series production started in 1984 but only eight of such multiple units were made. These were mostly used by the Cluj regional division for services between Cluj-Napoca and Teiuàor Dej, but also by the Craiova regional division for trains between Craiova and Motru or Târgu Jiu and by the Bucharest regional division for trains to CÃÂlÃÂraÃÂi. In the new classification they were referred to as the following:
Whilst officially they were known as the RES 1870 kW by the Electroputere, where RES stood for "Suburban Electric Multiple Unit" (RamÃÂ ElectricÃÂ SuburbanÃÂ).
Another prototype was realized in 1991, which had stronger traction motors of 2870 kW overall. But all these units were plagued with brake and electrical equipment issues, so after the 1990s they were quickly retired, in favour of CFR Class EA-pulled local trains. Nowadays, the only remaining example is the 1991 prototype, although a few cars of the series production trainsets were known to have survived years ago at the GriviÃÂa Carriage Works, while others lay stored in RÃÂzboieni and TeiuÃÂ before they were scrapped.