Yesterday, on 30 September 2021, management board members of the Rail Baltica joint venture and the global project coordinator RB Rail AS met with the Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis in Vilnius to discuss the Rail Baltica implementation plans in Lithuania.
Currently, all preparatory works for the construction of the Rail Baltica line towards the Lithuanian-Latvian border are progressing. Land acquisition procedures have already been completed in this section, and from 169 kilometers to Latvia, public procurement procedures have been announced for construction of the 65 km Rail Baltica railway line. The procurement bids have been received for the Neris bridge, one of the most complex construction objects on the Lithuanian section where the design was completed in December 2020, therefore the contract for construction works is planned to be signed in upcoming months. In parallel, the preparation of special plans which are initiated by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania for the infrastructure maintenance facility, Kaunas-Polish border, Kaunas-Vilnius section as well as the Kaunas node are ongoing, while development of regional stations and Panevėžys junction is being initiated.
“The project has been progressing across all three Baltic states. Nevertheless, some sections of the planned Rail Baltica mainline have been challenging to advance as planned generally due to Covid-19 impact and related circumstances. As the design has developed, we have identified opportunities to make changes that provide additional benefits from the project, but these have taken extra time to include,” says Mark S. Loader, member of the management board and CPMO at the Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS.
“The commitment of all project partners in the Baltics and the EU remains unchanged – to complete the first works as close to 2026 while ensuring full implementation of the whole Rail Baltica line – together with the rest of North Sea – Baltic and other transport core network corridors in the EU – not later than 2030,” says Agnis Driksna, Chairman of the management board and CEO at RB Rail AS. “As numerous partners are involved in the project delivery, the minister reconfirmed full support of all partners involved on the Lithuanian side to prioritise the works under their responsibility. “
“There is no doubt that the construction of the Rail Baltica mainline remains a strong priority, and we are committed to continue delivering master designs by the end of this year for the sections where the financing is available to start the mainline construction works in Lithuania. We also agreed on enhanced cooperation regarding the ongoing spatial plan on Kaunas – Lithuania/Poland border to ensure that the new line on this section fully complies with the Rail Baltica technical parameters and allows to proceed with the detailed technical design works on this section thus matching the pace of progress on Rail Baltica infrastructure development also in Poland,” Driksna adds.
