Rail Baltica


Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. The project envisages a continuous rail link for passenger and freight services with stations from Tallinn to Warsaw, via Pärnu, Riga and Kaunas, with two branches extending from the main line towards Riga International Airport and Vilnius. Its total length in the Baltic states is, with in Estonia, in Latvia, and in Lithuania.
Rail Baltica will build the first large-scale mainline standard gauge railway in the region. Rail networks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania mainly use Russian gauge. These countries' first railways were built in the second half of the 19th century as part of the Russian Empire rail network. While some railways were built or converted to narrow or standard gauge in the Interwar period between World War I and World War II in the independent or German-occupied Baltic states, these were later converted back to Russian gauge under Soviet occupation rule after 1945.
According to a study produced by Ernst & Young, the measurable socio-economic benefits are estimated at €16.2 billion. The assessed GDP multiplier effect the Rail Baltica Global Project would create is an additional €2 billion., the completion of the phase 1 single-track railway from Tallinn through Latvia to the Lithuania-Poland border is scheduled for 2030, with completion of the double track railway to follow dependent on funding. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union. It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks and it is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. It has also been proposed to extend Rail Baltica to include an undersea railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki.

Overview

Genesis

The Rail Baltica project results from the three Pan-European Transport Conferences held in Prague, Crete and Helsinki. “Rail Baltica” corresponds to the rail element, from Tallinn to Warsaw, of the first of nine Pan-European transport corridors defined at the Crete conference in March 1994, while the road project is called “Via Baltica”.

Proposed environmental impact

Rail Baltica will be an electric railway, motivated by a desire to reduce carbon emissions. The railway has been planned to avoid Natura 2000 protected areas, in addition to minimising impacts on other environmentally sensitive protected areas and existing 1,520 mm gauge railway networking areas. Wherever necessary, noise protection barriers will be installed. Special animal passages will be built through the embankment.

Stations

The railway project will enable intermodality and multimodality, i.e. transportation of freight through two or more methods of transportation. Rail Baltica includes plans for three multimodal freight terminals located in Muuga Harbour, Salaspils, and Kaunas. This is intended to create synergies with the existing 1,520 mm railway system infrastructure. There will be seven international passenger stations—in Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Riga Airport, Panevėžys, Kaunas, and Vilnius—with potential regional stations and connections to airports and seaports.
The section from Helsinki to Tallinn will be operated by existing commercial ferries. A proposed Helsinki to Tallinn Tunnel was considered to provide a rail link between the two cities. At the end of April 2021, governments of Estonia and Finland signed a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to cooperation in the area of transport. In February 2024, the tunnel was judged by Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne to be unrealistic and that it was not on the agenda of the government.

Parameters

Rail Baltica will be built as a new, publicly owned, fast conventional railway. It will be electrified and equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System and FRMCS for signalling and communications. The maximum design speed is for passenger trains, while the maximum operational speed will be. It is to operate as a single track railway as part of phase 1 of the project, with a double-track railway remaining in the project's scope. For freight trains, the maximum design speed is. The new railway line will be built as standard gauge. Other key technical parameters include:
  • The maximum freight train length will be.
  • The maximum axle load will be.
  • No level crossings with roads.
  • No flat crossings with the rail network.
  • For maintenance and emergency services, access to the main line should be every and in specific areas.
  • The railway will have ballasted track.
  • Its electrification is to use 2 x 25 kV AC.
  • Its double track side should be right-hand running when operational.
  • It is ERTMS Level 2, Baseline 3.
  • It is built to a SE-C loading gauge.
The network's parameters are in accordance with the EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability.
The design phase began in 2016, with design activities at the Riga Central Passenger Station and the Riga International Airport passenger station in Latvia to be continued until 2023. Meanwhile, the construction of the Rail Baltica infrastructure started in 2019, the first operations should start on some of the sections by 2028 and the overall corridor should be completed by 2030.
The overall length of the railway between Tallinn and Warsaw will be at least, while the length within the Baltic States proper will be.

Project organization

Project implementers

The Rail Baltica project is implemented by the three Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Finland announced in February 2019 that it would also join the project.
The beneficiaries of the Rail Baltica project are ministries of the three Baltic States: Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Latvia's Ministry of Transport, and Lithuania's Ministry of Transport and Communications. In 2014, they established RB Rail AS, a joint venture that acts as the main coordinator and project implementer for the project. Its main business is the design, construction, and marketing of the railway. RB Rail AS also submits EU financing proposals for the Rail Baltica purchasing body for all parties for the procurement of studies, plans, designs for the Global Project, sub-systems, raw materials, key components, and cross-border track sections.
Rail Baltic Estonia OU in Estonia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas SIA in Latvia, and Rail Baltica statyba UAB and LtgInfra in Lithuania are the national implementing bodies. All construction carried out by the implementing bodies is done under the supervision of RB Rail AS and is based on common procurement principles, rules, and contract templates.

Financing

A feasibility study of Rail Baltica in the three Baltic States carried out by AECOM in May 2011 estimated a cost of €3.6 billion for the railway and proved that Rail Baltica is economically viable. Based on that study, key political and practical decisions—both on the national and EU level—were made to implement Rail Baltica.
Since the AECOM study, the project has grown to include additional elements to the Rail Baltica Global Project for better connectivity, passenger mobility, and inter-modality. These additions include routing the Rail Baltica passenger mainline through the Riga International Airport and the construction of the airport passenger station, the Kaunas–Vilnius connection, an improved connection in Kaunas, and the construction of the Ülemiste–Tallinn airport tram line. Moreover, the preparation of environmental impact assessments, spatial planning, and some preliminary designs has provided better investment estimations for the project.
Thus, in April 2017, the overall cost of the Rail Baltica Global Project implementation in all three countries—including the construction of the Kaunas–Vilnius section—was estimated to be €5.8 billion, according to a cost-benefit study carried out by Ernst & Young and Atkins International experts, based on the European Union's CBA guidelines. The analysis showed that the project was financially feasible and viable, social benefits were proved, and its measurable benefits would outweigh the costs. This provided the necessary updated parameters for continued EU and national co-financing of the project.
The project's profitability lies in its wider socio-economic benefits, which Ernst & Young estimated to be around €16.22 billion. In addition, several immeasurable benefits would be created through regional integration, such as tourism development, new business creation, increased attractiveness to FDI, access to new export markets, technological transfer, and innovation.
The project is financed by the member states, the European Union TEN-T budget, and the Structural and Cohesion Funds provided to the EU New Member States. By the start of 2018, the three Baltic States and RB Rail AS had received two grants totaling €765 million designed under the CEF for the construction of the Rail Baltica railway. On 13 July 2018, a third grant agreement was signed for an additional €130 million, of which €110 million was CEF contribution. In July 2020, another CEF funding was received, amounting to €216 million for construction, technical design, and planning works. In total, the project has received around €1.2 billion from the EU and national funds.
In October 2023 Rail Baltica joint venture of the Baltic States, RB Rail AS, announced the signing of an additional cross-border Grant Agreement for Connecting Europe Facility funding, which amounted to 928 million euros CEF support. This substantial funding, combined with national co-financing from the three Baltic States, will exceed 1.1 billion euros, enabling necessary activities for further high-speed infrastructure development.

Project progress

In 2017, all three Baltic parliaments ratified the Inter-Governmental Agreement for the Rail Baltica project, thereby confirming their long-term commitment to the project.
In August 2016, the spatial planning for the entire Rail Baltica railway line was approved in Latvia by the decision of the Latvian Government. This was followed by the approval of the Lithuanian Government in January 2017 for their respective section from Kaunas to the border with Latvia. The route for the section from Kaunas to the border with Poland, known as Rail Baltica I, is subject to the results of an Upgrade Feasibility Study. On 14 February 2018, the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Estonia approved the spatial plan for the line in Estonia, leading to the setting of the final route and preliminary design of the railway in the country. With Estonia's decision, the spatial territorial planning and preliminary technical design of the Rail Baltica railway in the Baltic states was finalised.
The Rail Baltica project entered the design phase in all three Baltic States with the approval of detailed design guidelines. Certain sections have finished consolidating preliminary technical design, tendering the detailed technical design services, and preparing a BIM strategy. On 20 March 2018, the first Rail Baltica construction design and supervision contract—for Rail Baltica's Riga International Airport railway station, related infrastructure, and viaduct—was signed by Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas SIA and PROSIV, the winner of the open international tender and a partnership of suppliers from three countries: Prodex, Sintagma, and Vektors T.
In 2018, studies related to commercialisation and supply materials were finalised, including a long-term business plan, an operational plan, an infrastructure management study, and an upgraded feasibility study of the European gauge railway line from Kaunas to the Lithuanian–Polish border. In 2019, the first cornerstone of Rail Baltica was laid in Estonia to mark the beginning of construction of the Saustinõmme viaduct. Also, detailed technical design contracts were signed for the following sections: Tallinn–Rapla and Pärnu–Rapla in Estonia, Kaunas–Ramygala and Ramygala–Latvian/Lithuanian border in Lithuania, and Vangaži–Salaspils–Misa and the main line through Riga in Latvia. With the contracts signed, geotechnical research was started in different sections of the railway in order to gather information about the soil.
In 2020, the development of detailed technical design had progressed to cover of the main track, which included all railway sections in Estonia and Latvia as well as sections from Kaunas to the Latvian/Lithuanian border in Lithuania.
In Estonia, discussions about environmental impact assessment were started and meetings were planned until the end of 2020. During the discussions, people were invited to ask questions regarding the project's environmental impact, while various technical solutions were presented.
In Latvia, the Riga Central Station construction was officially started with ceremonies on 23 November 2020. On the 3rd of February 2021, the project implementer of Riga Airport Station was also chosen; construction began in May 2021 and is ongoing. Talks with NGOs in Riga were started to discuss technical solutions within the city, especially for infrastructure elements such as crossings and overpasses.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised the importance of this European project, because of the connectivity across Europe that it will create, for civilian and military travel. Lithuania has a new commission to speed construction within the cities. Estonia faces cost increases and construction delays.
, the completion of the single-track railway from Tallinn to the Lithuania-Poland border as part of phase 1 is scheduled for 2030, with the rest of the network's schedule dependent on funding.