During his working visit to Latvia from 15-16 February, Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital and Transport Dr Volker Wissing met with Rail Baltica global project’s management and representatives, and together with Latvia’s Minister for Transport Mr Jānis Vitenbergs, and partners from DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH visited the Rail Baltica construction site at the Riga Central Station.
“Since February 24 last year, Rail Baltica project’s geostrategic importance for the Baltics and the European Union has increased significantly. We are grateful for the EU support for the new high speed railway line as a single, cross-border project that bridges the missing link of the North Sea – Baltic core network corridor. Furthermore, according to the recent agreements at the EU level, the North Sea – Baltic, as well as the new Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Aegean Sea corridors shall in future ensure a connection to Kyiv and Mariupol in Ukraine,” said Marko Kivila, interim CEO and Chairperson of the Management Board at RB Rail AS.
Together with the representatives of Rail Baltica delivery organizations the Ministers discussed the progress of the construction works at the Riga Central Station site. The Ministers were informed of the next steps in the project. The current priority is to complete the remaining preparatory works on the mainline designs to ensure full readiness for the large-scale construction in all Baltics. It is crucial that by 2024 the project is mature for full-scale construction on all main line sections.
“We are actively continuing construction works in the most complex sections in Latvia, and today we are in one of them – the Rail Baltica Central Multimodal Hub in Riga – significant both for Rail Baltica mainline and improvement of Latvia’s public transportation system as the world experience shows that high-speed train service between the city centre and the airport provides a great development stimulus. It should also be noted that the development of Rail Baltica in the centre of Riga is subject to the historical value of the city centre – the historic centre of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, therefore the design and construction complex, as the project must provide convenience for railway passengers while preserving the historical values of the city centre,” said Artūrs Caune, Member of the Management Board at Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas.
Germany – a key strategic partner of the Rail Baltica global project
As of today, Rail Baltica global project is cooperating with 200 Baltic and over 50 international companies in the Rail Baltica family. International expertise and experience sharing is crucial for the project’s success.
Germany is a strategic Rail Baltica partner not only for the delivery of the infrastructure, but in all the global project’s dimensions, including major investment and business development opportunities in preparation for the future commercial operation phase.
Since the beginning of the project, at its different stages, Rail Baltica has had 7 partners from Germany, including Deutsche Bahn, TUV Sud, Obermeyer, Railistics, RMCon, PTV, Gauff Solutions and others.