According to Butkevicius, when the electrification of the corridor is completed by March 2016, the journey time between Vilnius and Minsk will be reduced by 30 minutes to 2 hours.
During the first stage of the project, a 28.6 kilometres section New Kyviskes-Vilnius-Kena-state border with Belarus will be electrified. By March 2016, the section will have more than 2,000 metal constructions. Diesel trains going on the route Vilnius-Minsk will be gradually replaced with electric trains.
The prime minister says that cross-border services between Vilnius and Minsk are important not only for passenger transportation but also for freight transportation because the electric train trip costs are about 30 percent smaller than those by a diesel train, which is very important in enhancing Lithuania's competitiveness and attracting more cargo to Klaipeda Seaport from Eastern European and Asian countries.
Total project value is estimated at LTL 94 million (EUR 27.2 million).
