Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania have announced a joint tender for the procurement of regional trains for the Rail Baltic project, ERR reports.
Initially, Estonia planned to procure regional trains for the Rail Baltic project alone, but later Latvia and Lithuania joined the project to conduct a joint tender and secure better terms through a larger volume.
"The parties agreed that, since Estonia is the leading participant in the tender and is interested in the earliest possible delivery, two trains should arrive by the summer of 2029 for testing to begin," said ERR Infrastructure Minister Kuldar Leis.
According to the agreement, Latvia can purchase up to five trains, which will cost between 60 and 75 million euros. These are electric trains, with a minimum capacity of 200 seats.
"According to the project's conditions, after Estonia receives the first train, we will have up to three years to make a procurement decision. Currently, there are still open questions regarding which trains will be selected and their cost. Once these details are clarified, a procurement decision can be made," said Kristaps Zalais, Parliamentary Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Transport.
"We plan to acquire up to eight trains and use them for regional routes between Marijampolė, Kaunas, and Panevėžys. Currently, there is no direct route," noted Violeta Šimelionienė, head of the LTG Link department (Lithuania).
While Lithuania and Estonia are moving towards completing the Rail Baltic project by 2030, Latvia signals a lack of funding to extend the route to Estonia.
"We are aiming for completion by 2030 – this is the key deadline on which all our efforts and work are currently focused. The financial aspect remains one of the main challenges," said Zalais.
The deadline for submitting applications for the train procurement tender is set for May 4.
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