“Rail Baltica is the most important strategic project in the field of railway which will enable connection of Lithuania with Western Europe and the Baltic States. This stage of land preparation is particularly important for the successful next stage of railway construction. We can be pleased with the fact that, despite the challenges of the quarantine, the procedures of land acquisition for public use have been carried out seamlessly. We are grateful to the National Land Service and the Centre of Registers for their close and responsible cooperation in the implementation of this project“, says Loreta Maskaliovienė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania.
The procedures of land acquisition for public use, with the purpose of building the Rail Baltica railway section from Kaunas to Lithuanian/Latvian border, took place in five Lithuanian municipalities, specifically in Kaunas, Jonava, Kėdainiai, Panevėžys and Pasvalys district municipalities. Because of the specifics of these procedures and the complexity of the project itself, the procedures of land acquisition were carried out in two stages. During the first stage, plots of land have been taken for the construction of a railway line, and, during the second stage – to build and reconstruct the secondary roads.
The area of the private and state land that has been taken for public use during the first stage in Kaunas, Jonava, Kėdainiai, Panevėžys and Pasvalys districts amounts to 1,184.7 ha.
After the completion of all legal formalities at the end of 2020, LTG Infra took over the management of the land necessary for the construction of the Rail Baltica section from Kaunas to Lithuanian/Latvian border.
During the second stage, 368.4 hectares of land were taken to build and reconstruct the secondary roads.
The project of land acquisition for public use were prepared in accordance with the Resolution No 31 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 11 January 2017 on the Approval of the Special Plan of the European Standard Railway Line Kaunas – Lithuanian/Latvian State Border and on the Opening of the Procedure for Expropriation of Land on the Grounds of the Public Interest for the Construction of the European Standard Railway Line Kaunas – Lithuanian/Latvian border.
Rail Baltica is a greenfield rail transport infrastructure project with a goal to integrate the Baltic States in the European rail network. 870 km of high-speed double track electrified railway line will be built in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Trains will run on this line at speeds of up to 249 km/h. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
