EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Railways, Transport

"The question about construction costs and availability of resources at the time of construction is timely, and that's what we are looking at in surveys. It is clear, however, that the more pan-Baltic joint procurements we make, especially in the construction phase, the better the prices will be because we have more leverage negotiating together," Baiba Rubesa, CEO of the RB Rail joint venture of the three Baltic countries, said.

Riia Sillave, manager of the Estonian holding company Rail Baltic Estonia OU established for the implementation of the Rail Baltic project, described it as very important to plan the stages of the project in such fashion that similar activities are spread over different time periods so as to avoid overheating the construction market.

"We are already in contact with construction companies in order for everyone to have time to ready themselves for the upcoming activities," Sillave said.

RB Rail is a joint venture established by the three Baltic countries in October 2014. Its shares are owned equally by Estonia's RB Rail AS, Latvia's SIA Eiropas Dzelzcela Linijas and Lithuania's UAB Rail Baltica Statyba. RB Rail AS is the central coordinator for the Rail Baltic project for the construction of an European-gauge high speed rail line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The connection is intended to enable speeds of up to 240 kilometers per hour for passenger trains and 120 kilometers per hour for freight trains.