Lithuanian Railways and the consortium of Hidrostatyba- Leonhard Weiss RTE- Autokausta signed a EUR 54.76 million contract for the construction of the railway link between Kaunas railway station and Kaunas Intermodal Terminal, located at Palemonas.
Under the contract, the consortium will build 9 km of European-gauge line, will upgrade the existing 1,520-mm tracks, and will construct two road tunnels, a viaduct and noise barriers.
The spread between the lowest offer price and the highest was around 12 per cent and, following the competition and the decision on the winner, EUR 4 million were saved.
The construction of the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal at the Palemonas rail yard will help to ensure the intermodality of the Kaunas Public Logistics Centre (PLC). After completion of the Rail Baltica, and the Kaunas PLC will become one of the strongest cargo transport and logistics centres in the Baltic Sea region. Rail Baltica will be connected to Palemonas cargo terminal, which will be connected to the border between Lithuania and Poland.
“After establishing this strategic link, Palemonas will begin to operate the largest centre of transshipment of goods transported between two railway systems [European-gauge and 1520 gauge]. This will allow the company to increase the volume of intermodal transportation, which is one of the most efficient modes of freight transport,” Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai CEO Mantas Bartuska said.
Rail Baltica will have a total length of 870 km, of which most of the railway will cross Lithuania on a distance of 392 km, followed by Latvia with 265 km and Estonia, with 213 km. The total cost of the project amounts to EUR 5.8 billion and includes a European financing estimated at 85%.
Lithuania committed to complete its Rail Baltica section in 2025 and intends to put into operation in 2026. In Lithuania, Rail Baltica is divided in three large sections: from Kaunas to Poland, from Kaunas to Latvia and Kaunas-Vilnius link.
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