Today, the Government approved the infrastructure development plan for the Vilnius-Klaipėda railway and Klaipėda railway junction – the section from Klaipėda to Draugystės station. According to the proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the electrified railway infrastructure network will meet the technical and transport needs of the European Union and reduce the negative impact of transport on the environment.

“The railway line Vilnius-Kaišiadorys-Šiauliai-Klaipėda is one of the most intensively used sections of the Lithuanian railway network. The electrification of this main railway artery of the country will not only facilitate development of a sustainable and ecological transport infrastructure, thus contributing to the objectives of the EU green course, but will also increase the competitiveness of railway transport,” said Loreta Maskaliovienė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications.

After the implementation of the electrification project of the railway line Vilnius-Kaišiadorys-Šiauliai-Klaipėda and part of the Klaipėda railway junction (in the section from Klaipėda to Draugystės railway station), the emissions will decrease by 150 thousand tonnes per year, fuel reduction will comprise 30 per cent, while the operating, including freight and passenger transport costs, will decrease by 40 per cent.

After the electrification of the Vilnius-Kaišiadorys-Šiauliai-Klaipėda railway line and part of the Klaipėda railway junction (in the section from Klaipėda to Draugystės railway station), which is also part of the international corridor IXB, the length of electrified railway roads will increase to 520 km, comprising 27 per cent of the length of the railway network in operation.

The total value of the railway electrification project is 398 million euros, 197 million euros will be allocated from the European Union Cohesion Fund. Other funds will be provided by Lietuvos Geležinkeliai AB. The total length of the electrified section is 364 km.

At present, the railways in Lithuania are one of the least electrified in Europe; the electrified railway makes up only 8 per cent the entire network. Through development of an environmentally friendly transport system, following the implementation of this large-scale project and construction of the electrified Rail Baltica railway line by 2030, 39 per cent of the Lithuania railway lines will be electrified.

The Lithuanian railway network comprises a total of over 1,920 km of operating railways.

Pranešimą paskelbė: Žydrūnė Tursaitė, LR Susisiekimo ministerija