The decision of the EU institutions on the approval of funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for 2021–2027 on the basis of applications submitted is expected in the first half of 2022 and the conclusion of financing contracts in the second half of this year.
“Rail Baltica is a major infrastructure development project for the whole European Union and its transport network. Many important works have already been completed in Lithuania: last year, the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal was connected to the EU railway system, and the solution selection phase of the Vilnius–Kaunas section is coming to an end. Sufficient and timely funding is an essential condition for maintaining the momentum of the project, achieving all the goals set in accordance with the deadlines and starting construction,” – says Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis.
At the moment, Lithuania is actively preparing to construct a European railway from Kaunas to the Latvian border. On this section, the acquisition of land for public needs has already been completed and tenders have been announced for almost 29 km of railway infrastructure in Jonava District: substructures, engineering structures and connecting roads. In addition, public procurement procedures are ongoing for the acquisition of services for the territorial planning of the Panevėžys railway node and regional stations in this section, and for environmental impact assessment services.
It is planned that one of the longest (1.5 km long) railway bridges in the Baltic States will be built during the work. The trains running on the new Rail Baltica railway will have a design speed of up to 249 km/h, which is why safety is particularly important when constructing the railway. The whole railway will be enclosed by a protective fence, pedestrians and animals will have passages, crossings, green bridges, and cars will only have two-level crossings – viaducts, tunnels.
EU funding is also requested for designing the sections Vilnius–Kaunas and Kaunas node–Lithuanian-Polish border, forming the land corridor necessary for railway construction, designing and purchasing the Rail Baltica railway electrification system.
Rail Baltica, the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, is aimed at constructing a fully electrified double-track European gauge connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. The total length of Rail Baltica in the Baltic States is 870 km, with 392 km in Lithuania, 265 km in Latvia and 213 km in Estonia.