Marius Skuodis met with the management board of RB Rail AS: the joint venture must enable implementation of Rail Baltica in Lithuania by 2026
Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis met with the board of RB Rail AS, joint venture between the three Baltic States, on Thursday, and emphasised that the plan to build the Rail Baltica railway in Lithuania by the end of 2026 largely depends on the actions and efforts of RB Rail AS. According to the Minister, in order to achieve this objective, the venture must complete the necessary design works of Kaunas–Ramygala section this year. This is the key to the timely launch of the procurement procedure for construction works of the entire section.
“We devote special attention to the implementation of Rail Baltica. This is both vitally important for regional economic development and for citizens’ convenience. Rail Baltica is our gateway to Europe. The Rail Baltica project is sufficiently mature in Lithuania to be further constructed towards the border with Latvia; however, the design works that fall under RB Rail AS responsibility are lagging behind. Timely completion of the design stage of the section from Kaunas to Ramygala will allow launching procurement of construction works already this year,” Marius Skuodis said.
Preparatory works for the construction of the Rail Baltica line towards Lithuania–Latvia border are finished. Land acquisition procedures in this section have already been completed. Public procurement procedures for works have been announced for a 65 km strip of the Rail Baltica line (out of 169 km to the Latvian border). While in parallel, the drafting of special plans for electrification and regional stations, as well as Panevėžys hub development, has been launched.
It is planned that the section Kaunas–Ramygala will be equipped with 7 road overpasses, 11 rail overpasses, 4 railway bridges and 3 green tunnels. Additionally, this section is to have one of the most stunning engineering objects over the entire line connecting the three Baltic States, i. e. an impressive 1510 metres long railway bridge over the Neris River.
The meeting also focused on the need for timely and sufficient funding in order to continue the development of the Rail Baltica project in line with the provided terms. The Minister believes that currently, with the increase of prices for construction material and works, the project estimate needs to be recalculated. Global project cost-benefit analysis is to be updated in 2023.
Rail Baltica, the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, is aimed at constructing a fully electrified double-track European gauge 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.
Last updated: 30-09-2021
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