Today, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola as part of her working visit in Latvia met with members of the Management Board of Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS – Chairman of the Management and CEO Agnis Driksna and Chief Technical Officer Marc-Philippe el Beze as well as the management of the national project implementer in Latvia SIA “Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas” – Chairman of the Management Board Kaspars Vingris and board member Artūrs Caune.
During the meeting the President of European Parliament Roberta Metsola acknowledged the need for swift Rail Baltica implementation to improve the connectivity of the Baltic region: “Rail Baltica is not, and it should not be seen as being at the periphery. It is a major missing link of the TEN-T core network and is essential prerequisite also for further improvements FOR the connectivity towards Finland and the North.”
Also, other issues, including Rail Baltica global project’s implementation progress, delivery strategy, availability of funding, impact to the project following the aggression on Ukraine, strategic importance of Rail Baltica in the current geopolitical situation were discussed.
“We had a unique opportunity to discuss the geopolitical situation in the Baltic States and Europe, including how the Rail Baltica project will help in this situation, and what are the challenges and benefits of the global project requiring particular attention. We also discussed the project’s implementation schedule so that by 2030 we can ensure connectivity between the three Baltic states and the Trans-European Transport Network,” said Agnis Driksna, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO at RB Rail AS.
After the official part of the visit, the representatives from the builder consortium of Rail Baltica’s Riga Central Station – “BERERIX” and EGIS RAIL SA introduced the progress of the construction works on the iconic Rail Baltica’s Riga Central Hub.
“The most visible and, of course, the most interesting part of the Rail Baltica Riga Central Station construction work has begun, as we have completed most of design work. Right now, already in the multimodal area of the Central Station, we can see how the first columns are being built, which will in the future support the entire Rail Baltica viaduct and railway tracks, thus ensuring a vital contribution to the sustainable and multimodal Rail Baltica delivery,” said Guntis Āboltiņš-Āboliņš, Executive Director at BERERIX.
Vice President of the European Parliament, Dr. Roberts Zīle, who is also representing the European Parliament “Friends of Rail Baltica” informal group also participated in the visit.
“I continue my mission as the leader of the “Friends of Rail Baltica” informal group since its creation. We will continue to use this platform, which includes not only deputies from the Baltics, but also from other countries, and we will keep ensuring the high rating of this project. Now, everyone in Europe is fighting for resources, and it is clear that completing Rail Baltica by 2030 is absolutely important,” he said.
Publicity photos from the visit are available at the link here.
