The planned route of the double-track high-speed railway will pass from Vilnius through Paneriai, Lentvaris, north of Vievis, north of Kaišiadorys and will end in Kaunas. It is planned to build it, where possible, next to the existing 1,520 mm gauge railway. During the preparation of the special plan, regional connections with Vievis and Kaišiadorys regional stations, Vilnius Intermodal Terminal, and Vilnius and Kaunas Airports have been foreseen. The length of the main line will reach 95 km, with the total length including additional connections reaching 156 km. The train journey from Vilnius to Kaunas without stops at regional stations will take about 38 minutes.
“The connection with Vilnius undoubtedly increases the added value created by the entire project from economic and social point of view. However, this section is also one of the most complex ones, as it is the most urbanised section. Continuous dialogue with municipalities and communities is necessary, therefore, additional meetings with municipalities and communities will be held at this stage of making concrete solutions in order to answer all the questions of concern to society and business organisations,” said Loreta Maskaliovienė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications.
According to Dovydas Palaima, the manager at LTG Infra Rail Baltica, the company responsible for the implementation of the project in Lithuania, during the preparation of the draft of the special territorial planning document, the most acceptable solutions were sought for individual communities and municipalities that will be most affected by the future railway: “The plan presents solutions that meet as much as possible the expectations of people living near the railway and the business organisations, as well as the requirements for the high-speed railway.”
Owners and users of plots of land, where the European-gauge railway or other infrastructure facilities are planned, and owners and users of adjacent plots will be informed about the prepared concrete solutions by registered letters.
The optimal alternative of the railway line Kaunas-Vilnius was approved at the end of 2021, when after intensive discussions with municipal representatives and communities, as well as taking into account the necessary technical standards applied to the European high-speed railway track, it was decided that the so-called northern S5 alternative best meets the needs of all interested parties. Joint venture partners Sweco Lietuva UAB (responsible partner) and DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH are the organisers of the engineering infrastructure development plan for the Kaunas-Vilnius railway line of the Rail Baltica project.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, which will include the construction of an electrified dual European-gauge railway connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pärnu 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.
Relevant links and information for the public
You can familiarise with the prepared draft of the special territorial planning document from 4 November 2022 until 4 January 2023 (in Lithuanian):
- On the website of the Ministry of Transport and Communications https://sumin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/projekto-rail-baltica-gelezinkelio-linijos-kaunas-vilnius-susisiekimo-komunikaciju-inzinerines-infrastrukturos-vystymo-planas;
- On the website of the information system of the state supervision of the territorial planning process www.tpdris.lt, TPD No S-NC-00-19-10;
- On Web GIS online space https://tiny.cc/rbaltica.
From 2 December 2022 to 4 January 2023, public expositions of the solutions of the special territorial planning document will take place in the premises of the municipal administrations of Elektrėnai, Jonava District, Kaišiadorys District, Kaunas City and Kaunas District, Trakai District, Vilnius City and Vilnius District.
Public deliberation, during which the decisions of the special territorial planning document will be publicly introduced will be held on 4 January 2023 at 5 p.m. in Humanitas conference hall of the Panorama hotel: Sodų g. 14, Vilnius. Public deliberation will also be webcast live via the MS Teams platform. Live video broadcast link: https://bit.ly/3E5yz2k.
