Money is available — construction continues: Rail Baltica received the green light in Latvia

Photo: LETA

In Latvia, as part of the "Rail Baltica" railway line project, builders have been granted permission to start construction work on a section of 30–35 kilometers, said Ojar Daugavietis, the CFO of the joint venture of the three Baltic countries AS "RB Rail", in an interview on the program "900 seconds" (TV3), LETA reports.

He noted that in Latvia, out of approximately 50–55 kilometers for which funding is already available, builders have been handed about 30–35 kilometers to start construction work.

Daugavietis pointed out that Latvia has changed its priorities in implementing the project and is currently focusing on the construction of the main line, whereas initially work began with the creation of the Riga Ring, which is the technically most complex section of the project.

“Is the Riga Ring a failed investment? I think sooner or later we will return to the Riga Ring anyway,” he said.

In addition, the CFO of "RB Rail" expressed the opinion that another bridge over the Daugava will be necessary in Riga, as the capacity of the existing railway bridge is likely insufficient for the required intensity.

“To avoid railway congestion, sooner or later we will need this bridge,” Daugavietis stated.

He also added that currently all three Baltic countries have about 4.5 billion euros allocated for the project: Latvia has access to 1.5 billion euros, Lithuania to 1.6 billion euros, and Estonia to 1.2 billion euros.

Daugavietis also noted that in the next planned period of the EU multiannual budget, investments in transport under the "Connecting Europe" instrument will amount to 51 billion euros, whereas in the previous period, it was 25 billion euros.

“We expect that 'Rail Baltica' in the next period until 2034 may receive twice as much funding as it has so far,” he said.

It was previously reported that the "Rail Baltica" project involves the creation of a European standard gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuania-Poland border, so that the Baltic countries can be connected by rail to other European states. A new railway line with a gauge of 1435 mm and a length of 870 kilometers is planned to be built in the Baltic countries, with a maximum train speed of 240 km/h.

According to "RB Rail", the cost of the first phase of the project in the Baltic countries may amount to 14.3 billion euros, of which 5.5 billion euros is in Latvia, with potential savings of up to 500 million euros through optimization of technical solutions, as well as other cost reductions possible.

The total expenses for the project, according to the cost-benefit analysis, may reach 23.8 billion euros in the Baltic countries. In the previous analysis in 2017, it was estimated that the project would cost 5.8 billion euros in total.

"RB Rail" is a joint venture of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia created to coordinate the implementation of the "Rail Baltica" project. The shareholders of the company are Latvia's "Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas", Estonia's "Rail Baltic Estonia", and Lithuania's "Rail Baltica Statyba."