On Friday, Latvian Radio reported an unofficial proposal not to connect the Rail Baltica sections Salaspils and Skulte with European gauge tracks. However, Infrastructure Minister Kuldar Leis confirmed that the entire route is still planned to be built with the European gauge.
The transport ministers of Estonia and Latvia discussed the speculations surrounding Rail Baltica during a phone conversation on Friday. "The Latvian transport minister confirmed that Latvia's official plan for Rail Baltica has not changed. The entire route is still planned to be built with the European gauge," said Leis.
"In the case of such large-scale international infrastructure projects, the emergence of various opinions and speculations in the public space is inevitable, but Estonia bases its decisions on the official positions of the government, not on rumors. At the beginning of the new year, Elron plans to announce a framework tender for the supply of regional trains, where the possibility of ordering will also be provided for Latvia and Lithuania. All three Baltic countries remain committed to the goal of completing the first phase of the main line by 2030," added Leis.
Although the Latvian government has accepted the total amount of 5.5 billion euros for the completion of the first phase of Rail Baltica, the project is still looking for ways to save, Latvian Radio reported on Friday.
There are five years left until the connection of the Baltic countries to the European gauge railway network. However, according to Latvian Radio, there was an unofficial proposal at the initial stage not to connect Salaspils and Skulte with European gauge tracks. It is planned to use the existing railway infrastructure in this section, and to lay tracks of the necessary European standard from Skulte to the border with Estonia.
Currently, construction work within the Rail Baltica project is actively underway in three locations in Latvia: at the Riga Central Station, in the airport area, and in the Bauska region.
Those responsible for the Latvian part of the Rail Baltica project have always claimed that the connection to Lithuania is more important for Latvia than the northern section. Therefore, more money is directed towards the connection with Lithuania, while funding for the northern section has not yet been found, writes the Latvian public broadcasting company LSM.
By 2030, a railway of European gauge should connect the Baltic countries with Central Europe. Latvian Radio now claims that trains running from Salaspils to Skulte will remain on the existing 1520-millimeter gauge tracks from the Tsarist era. In this case, trains capable of operating on tracks of two different standards will be required, LSM asserts.
