Railway infrastructure capacity allocation is one of the essential functions of the railway infrastructure manager and represents one of its core activities. The point behind the allocation of railway infrastructure capacity is to enable interested applicants to plan and use train paths along the railway line over a given period of time.
Expert Working Group has worked out a model how capacity allocation process could work for the Rail Baltica railway line and has proposed to follow the practices developed by the European rail infrastructure companies association (RailNetEurope). The proposals of the expert working group will be put forward for the consultation and alignment procedures with the relevant institutions.
“Rail Baltica project provides an opportunity for the Baltic states to explore new measures of cooperation in the rail sector. Our aim is to make rail transport an attractive and competitive mode of transport, allowing both to attract new and to shift existing traffic to rail, and thus contribute to the Green Deal policy implemented by the European Union and Baltic countries,” Karolis Sankovski, CEO of LTG Infra, says.
In 2020, a special format of cooperation was established between the entities responsible for Rail Baltica infrastructure management, and preparatory work commenced to develop the Rail Baltica railway infrastructure management model and to prepare for the operational phase of this infrastructure. To this end, the joint expert working group is devising measures that could be implemented in all three Baltic states to ensure open and easy access to railway infrastructure for interested market players.
Rail Baltica railway infrastructure management model is being designed on the basis of the previously developed action plan. It identifies twelve core areas related to infrastructure managements and its’ operations, such as infrastructure charging and railway infrastructure capacity allocation, application of the one-stop shop principle, railway safety, etc.
With a view to launch train services on the Rail Baltica railway line immediately after completion of the project, the development of the infrastructure management model and preparation for the operational phase are taking place in parallel. More information on the activity areas assessed and measures under consideration is available in the Annual Activity Report of the expert working group.
To assure that the objectives of Rail Baltica infrastructure management model development are achieved in a timely manner, LTG Infra AB, SIA Eiropas Dzelzcela linijas and Rail Baltic Estonia OU have recently signed a memorandum of understanding which defines the cooperation framework and principles to be followed.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the Baltic states with the goal of advancing the integration of the Baltic States into the trans-European transport network. 870 km of electrified high-speed double track will be built in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, with trains travelling at speeds up to 249 km/h.
