Construction, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Railways, Transport

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Thursday, 28.03.2024, 10:56

Baltic States should not hesitate with agreement on Rail Baltica projects

BC, Riga, 29.04.2016.Print version
The Baltic States should not hesitate with the agreement on Rail Baltica project for construction of the European standard-gauge railroad that would establish a direct connection between the Baltic States and the European railway network, said Catherine Trautmann, European Coordinator for the North Sea–Baltic core network corridor, in an interview with LETA.

She said that there will be questions about possible problems in the Rail Baltica project until the Baltic states achieve an agreement.

 

"I hope the agreement will be achieved in June this year, during the TEN-T days in Rotterdam, and then we will see how far the project has gone. We will see how sure not only the Baltic states, but also Poland and Finland are about the project. All parties should understand that the project is irreversible," the expert said.

 

She said that it is difficult to speak about the project's profitability and ability to attract business representatives to it at the moment. "When business representatives are asked, they voice readiness to use Rail Baltica infrastructure. At the same time, they want to be sure that this infrastructure will be built. All the three Baltic states have to agree on this project, the EU has to support it," said Trautmann.

 

The expert is not suprised about the long discussion on the project. She is sure that the discussions should be thorough, but the result should be positive. Still, the Baltic states should understand that this is a very serious project and the agreement should not be delayed, the expert said.

 

The Rail Baltica project involves the construction of a high speed rail line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The track width will be 1,435 mm according to the European standard, and passenger trains will travel at a speed of up to 240 kilometers per hour, while freight trains will travel at a speed of up to 120 kilometers per hour.

 

Rail Baltica will restore direct links between the Baltic states and the European railroad network, also facilitating regional integration by linking Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas (with a connection to Vilnius), Warsaw and Berlin.

 

Construction of the European gauge railway is expected to start in 2018 and the railway is expected to be completed in 2024–2025.

 

The central coordinator for the Rail Baltica project is RB Rail, a joint venture established by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) committee in Brussels in July 2015 approved funding for the first phase of the Rail Baltica II project that would cover 81.83 percent of its costs. The estimated total eligible cost of the project’s Phase I is EUR 540.444 million, which means that the maximum EU financial contribution is planned at EUR 442.231 million.






Search site