“The funding for the further development of the Rail Baltica project is excellent news for Lithuania and the Baltic States, especially given the increased geopolitical importance of this project. This sends a strong message that this project of exceptional importance is increasingly gaining momentum, bringing us closer to the most important goal: opening the first sections from Kaunas to Riga as soon as possible, and connecting the Baltic region to the common European rail network,” said Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis.
At the beginning of this year, Lithuania, together with Latvia, Estonia and the joint venture between the Baltic States RB Rail AS, submitted applications for additional EU funding for the implementation of the European gauge railway Rail Baltica. The total EU funding required of the three Baltic States then amounted to almost €954 million, of which more than EUR 390 million were a direct share for Lithuania.
“The Lithuanian Railways Group consistently and resolutely strives for comprehensive integration with Europe - both in terms of business relations and infrastructure. In the latter aspect, Rail Baltica is of particular importance. In Lithuania, it has reached a new level of maturity - we believe that this is one of the main reasons for the favourable decision by the European Commission to allocate as much additional funding to the project in Lithuania as was requested when submitting the application. Timely financing for project activities is essential in order to implement the project within the agreed terms", says Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of LTG.
The funding will be used for the construction of the railway and its structures from Kaunas towards the border with Latvia: the construction of the crossing and engineering structures, access service roads in the sections of Kaunas-Šveicarija and Šėta-Ramygala, the preparatory works, the technical supervision, the risk and safety assessment, the conformity assessment and the other activities related to the railway construction.
The additional funding will also be used for land acquisition activities in two sections: the Kaunas railway junction and the Kaunas-Lithuania-Poland border section.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, which will provide an electrified double-track European gauge railway line along the entire Rail Baltica route, connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, 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.
