M. Skuodis urges acceleration of Rail Baltica implementation in Lithuania

On Friday, Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis had a meeting with the heads of the companies implementing Rail Baltica and urged them to accelerate the construction of the European gauge railway line in Lithuania in order to connect Lithuania and the Baltic states to Western Europe.

The Minister and developers of the project — heads of Lithuanian Railways AB and LTG Infra, representatives of the board and supervisory board of the joint venture between the Baltic States RB Rail AS — discussed the progress of Rail Baltica implementation, status of activities, and the next upcoming works related to the project.

“In the current geopolitical context, it is necessary to assess all possibilities of accelerating the implementation of Rail Baltica in Lithuania. We must focus all our efforts on following the agreed work schedule and opening the first sections as soon as possible — so we would see the approaching end of the construction of the trackbed between Kaunas and Panevėžys by the end of 2024, and we would be ready for the construction from Kaunas to Vilnius and the Polish border,” says Minister Skuodis.

The Minister stated that all responsible entities should place their greatest focus on the successful and timely implementation of Rail Baltica. According to the Minister, in order to increase the maturity of this project, prepare for construction and carry out all works on time, the companies implementing and coordinating the project in Lithuania should allocate the necessary human and other resources, strengthen institutional cooperation.

“We can’t afford to be relaxed. The sections in Lithuania must be put into operation as soon as possible without waiting for the whole project to be completed,” said the Minister at the meeting.

This year, territorial planning will continue at the main Rail Baltica railway line at the sections Kaunas–Vilnius, Kaunas railway node and Jiesia (Kaunas)–the Lithuanian–Polish border, as well as at objects of regional importance. It is also planned to sign contracts for the services of project development and design for land acquisition for public needs at the main line.

In 2023, it is planned to sign contracts for the design of Kaunas and Panevėžys infrastructure maintenance depots, Kaunas passenger station territory infrastructure, Vilnius railway node and regional stations and their connections in the section Kaunas–Vilnius.

In addition, the scope of railway construction in the Rail Baltica section of highest maturity, Kaunas–the Lithuanian–Latvian border, will significantly increase: a substructure, engineering structures and an access road for cars, a railway bridge over the Neris River will be built in Jonava District.

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.

Pranešimą paskelbė: Žydrūnė Tursaitė, LR Susisiekimo ministerija