The completion of the Rail Baltica railway project is a necessary precondition for possibly receiving investment from the European Commission for the construction of an undersea tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki (FinEst Link), according to the European Commission.
Estonian MEP Urmas Paet sent an interpellation to the European Commission, requesting for the opinion of the Commission about the plan to build an undersea transport tunnel between the capital cities of Estonia and Finland and whether the EU might invest in it. In response, Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc explained that first, the Rail Baltica project should be completed for the Tallinn-Helsinki connection to be economically viable.
At the time being, the project with its costs estimated at EUR 9-13 billion would not receive support from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) as it is not on the EU-wide transport network maps, which are set forth in the regulation, which is to be reviewed in 2023, the Commissioner stated.
The feasibility study of Tallinn-Helsinki fixed rail link project (FinEst Link) will be performed by a consortium comprised of Ramboll Finland, Sito OY, Strafica, Urban Research TA, Pöyry Finland, and Skepast&Puhkim. The studies, in the course of which the cost, payback time and possible technical solution for an underwater rail tunnel shall be established. In addition, the investigation of the technical concept and economic assessment will be conducted by a consortium comprised of Sweco, WSP, Hendrikson & Ko, and Amberg Engineering, from Switzerland, who also participated in the design works of the Gotthard and Brenner tunnels.
The FinEst Link project with a total budget of EUR 1.3 million has received co-funding from the EU’s Interreg Central Baltic progamme. The project consists of six partner organizations in Finland and Estonia: Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council (lead partner), City of Helsinki, Finnish Transport Agency, Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, City of Tallinn and Harju County Government.
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