This week, Rail Baltica hosted students from Riga Business School’s Future Changemakers Academy. Over two days, grades 9-12 students engaged with our team, exploring the future of transportation and sharing their perspectives. As our “future users,” their insights were invaluable, offering a fresh perspective.
Our Head of Communication, Signe Nīgale, presented on Rail Baltica’s commitment to sustainability and its strategic importance at regional, national, and European levels, highlighting the project’s transformative impact on mobility and wider impact on the region in the long run.
Following Signe, Iveta Jēgere, our Head of Sustainability, Health, and Safety, led a deep dive into Rail Baltica’s approach to environmentally friendly and sustainable infrastructure development. She explained how Rail Baltica addresses key environmental challenges in railway infrastructure development, such as noise control, safe animal migration, and the preservation of natural landscapes. Iveta highlighted our dedication to making Rail Baltica resilient to climate change and adhering to stringent sustainability standards throughout both construction and operational phases. Our contractors are held to high environmental standards, requiring them to implement sustainable construction practices and maintain robust environmental management systems.
Students participated in group activities using design thinking to address real and practical problems. This interactive session was a highlight, allowing us to hear their priorities and creative ideas for promoting Rail Baltica. We were impressed by their innovative solutions, which demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability. A key takeaway was that students see Rail Baltica as a significant opportunity for travel, education, and future employment, recognizing its impact on sustainability and climate change.
The participants also had the chance to visit the Rail Baltica Riga Central Station construction site, where they witnessed the project’s scale and progress firsthand. Anita Rūdule-Jansone, Project Manager at Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas, and Andis Linde, Stakeholder Manager from the project contractor Bererix, guided them through the site. The students explored the ongoing construction, including a visit to a 10-meter-deep construction barge in the Daugava River, where they observed the building of a new railway bridge. They showed great interest in the process, asking questions about the number of workers, the types of equipment and materials used, and the overall site organization.
The “Future Changemakers Academy” is a summer program designed by Riga Business School to cultivate leadership skills in young people and inspire them to become agents of change in the transportation sector. Through this program, these future leaders gain a deeper understanding of the challenges we face and are empowered to develop innovative solutions using design thinking.
We look forward to seeing the impact these young changemakers will have on the future of transportation and sustainability.