Construction works are being carried out on two sections of the line towards the Latvian border – 10 km on the Šveicarija-Žeimiai section and 17.7 km on Žeimiai-Šėta. The greatest progress was achieved in the first section – the construction of two animal crossings and the completion of the tunnel near the settlement of Čiūdai, while the construction of a bridge over the river Lankesa, and other works necessary for the installation of the railway embankment, are halfway done. Meanwhile, in the section Žeimiai-Šėta, almost all preparatory works for the construction of the railway embankment and engineering structures have been completed.
“Rail Baltica, a strategic project for both Lithuania and Europe, is at the stage of active construction. We are working on a project of such a unique scale that it requires non-standard solutions. Therefore, constant cooperation with contractors carrying out works is an integral part of our daily work”, says Vytis Žalimas, CEO of LTG Infra.
It is estimated that in the section from Šveicarija to Žeimiai, engineering structures will need an additional 1.5 million cubic meters of soil, and the structures themselves will need about 2.5 thousand tonnes of reinforcement and 25 thousand cubic meters of concrete.
According to Gediminas Gribulis, CEO of Fegda Group, challenges in this section are encountered in deep excavations, high embankments, and a high-water table: “Extremely large quantities of soil are being excavated during work, so the logistics are not the standard we are used to in conventional projects. There are currently around 300 people working in construction. As work volumes increase, the number of workers on construction sites will increase to 450.”
The new railway track and civil engineering structures are being built by the joint partners Fegda and Tilsta. The total value of the contracts is €165.54 million (excluding VAT).
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the modern history of the Baltic States and will result in a fully electrified double-track European standard-gauge railway connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pärnu and Tallinn. The total length of the Rail Baltica railway line in the Baltic States is 870 km: in Lithuania – 392 km, in Latvia – 265 km, and in Estonia – 213 km.
