Škoda Group considers participating in the tender for trains for Rail Baltica 0 8

He noted that in 2025, Škoda signed a contract for high-speed trains capable of reaching speeds of 200 km/h with the international operator Arriva, based in London and conducting important transport operations in the Netherlands, the UK, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Poland.

Novotny pointed out that Škoda would like to be involved in the Rail Baltica project.

"In short, this means ensuring high-quality service, as well as actually creating a kind of hub or sub-center for assembly here, the development of which Škoda began due to conditions caused by the war. This also opens up prospects for faster trains that will be necessary," he added.

The head of Škoda emphasized that Rail Baltica is also one of the projects of the Three Seas Initiative. "This initiative includes not only the Baltic states but also Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, and other countries cooperating on infrastructure connectivity issues," he noted.

Commenting on the competition among train manufacturers in the Baltic region, Novotny emphasized that competition is necessary and beneficial for both public transport customers and end users. At the same time, he stated that Škoda has "significantly" larger competitors than Stadler and other European companies, and they are located outside of Europe.

"It is important to understand that projects of this kind are very, very expensive," Novotny noted.

According to him, each company, for example, Siemens, Alstom, Stadler, PESA, invests about 90 million euros annually in research and development, so not only competition but also cooperation is important.

Earlier, the chairman of the board of Pasažieru vilciens (PV) Raitis Nešpors stated in an interview with the agency that the tender for the procurement of rolling stock for the Rail Baltica project in the Baltic countries is planned to be announced at the end of January next year.

He indicated that the Baltic countries will procure a unified standardized rolling stock. Estonia plans to purchase five trains, Latvia three, and Lithuania four.

Nešpors explained that Estonia will need the trains earlier and in larger quantities for objective reasons, as the Rail Baltica section Tallinn–Pärnu is being specifically developed for domestic transport and will be opened in 2030.

"While in Latvia and Lithuania, there is still no clarity on which section and when transport will begin. Therefore, a procurement option will be used, allowing for two years to further consider how many and when trains will be needed," Nešpors explained.

According to information from the joint venture of the three Baltic countries RB Rail, the costs for the first phase of implementing Rail Baltica in the Baltics could reach 14.3 billion euros, of which Latvia's share is 5.5 billion euros. At the same time, savings of up to 500 million euros are possible through optimizing technical solutions and other potential measures.

The total costs of the project, according to the cost-benefit analysis, could reach 23.8 billion euros. In the previous analysis from 2017, it was estimated that the entire project would cost 5.8 billion euros.

The Rail Baltica project involves the creation of a European standard gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuania-Poland border, to further connect the Baltic countries with other European countries. A new European gauge (1435 mm) railway line is planned to be built in the Baltic states, stretching 870 kilometers, along which trains can reach speeds of up to 240 km/h.