Lithuanian Minister of Transport, Eugenijus Sabutis, and the Polish Minister of Infrastructure, Dariusz Klimczak, met in Warsaw on January 16, where they discussed about military mobility issues and other projects to strengthen bilateral cooperation in transport and logistics sector.
Lithuania’s Minister of Transport highlighted that the current geopolitical situation dictates the need for new, alternative transport corridors and infrastructure links between Lithuania and Poland and for this, the two countries will submit a joint application for EU financial support for a road project.
The Lithuanian and Polish transport ministers also discussed cooperation in the implementation of the Rail Baltica project, the reconstruction of Lithuanian – Polish cross-border roads and other topical issues in the transport sector. Rail Baltica it will be an electrified, double-track high-speed railway of European standard, connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Parnu and Tallinn. Poland is consistently and in line with its commitments to implement subsequent tasks on the Rail Baltica route, adapting the route to the required TEN-T network standards.
“This fact is confirmed by the announcement at the beginning of this year of the largest tender in the railway sector in recent years, worth over PLN 6 billion [EUR 1.4 billion], which concerns the modernisation of 100 km of the Białystok – Ełk railway line, which is part of the Rail Baltica route. In addition to improving the technical parameters of the line, resulting in an increase in the permissible speed to 200 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains, it is planned to add a second track,” the Polish Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Piotr Malepszak, said.
In the framework of rail cooperation, plans were also discussed for the modernisation and electrification of railway line no. 40 connecting Suwałki with Białystok. The parties also expressed their readiness to further expand and make the passenger transport offer between Warsaw and Vilnius more attractive.
They discussed the possibility of launching a direct passenger train service between Kaunas and Warsaw as of 2028.
“Both countries are also seeking increased European funding for projects that improve transport and logistics across Central and Eastern Europe and contribute to the development of transport links with Ukraine. With the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we see a lot of potential for a breakthrough in this area,” the Minister of Transport and Communications Eugenijus Sabutis said.
To approach military mobility issues, the two countries need to implement road and rail infrastructure projects which will serve both civilian and defence purposes.
It is worth to be noted that under the third call for proposals in the field of military mobility published under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Poland secured a total co-financing of EUR 129.4 million, of which EUR 65 million for the implementation of rail-related projects for military mobility.
EUR 52.7 million is the European co-financing for works on the railway line no. 12 Skierniewice – Łuków (C-E20), bridge over Wisła River. The project covers the construction of the new double-track railway bridge over Wisła river located on C-E20 railway line and the upgrading of over 3 km double-track railway line on the section from Góra Kalwaria to Kępa Gliniecka. The project will improve the capacity of railway line and facilitate both international freight and passenger rail for dual use transport.
EUR 8.4 million will support the construction of an intermodal terminal in the Logistics Center of the Port of Gdynia to increase its sea-to-rail cargo handling capacities.
EUR 4.35 million is the EU co-financing for the construction of the multimodal railway transshipment hub on the Ostrów Grabowski peninsula in the port of Szczecin. The project covers the construction of a railway transshipment yard and reconstruction of a ro-ro ramp in the core seaport of Szczecin. The main benefit of the project will be the development of energy-saving and environmentally friendly rail container and military equipment transport infrastructure.
Under this call for proposals, Lithuania secured co-financing totalling EUR 18.7 million for airport and road infrastructure.
In a meeting with Krzysztof Gawkowski, the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Digitalisation, Sabutis discussed the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and further cooperation in the telecommunications sector. Particular attention was paid to the protection of cables and communications infrastructure.
In order to implement the international 5G corridor, Lithuania is working closely with Poland to ensure high quality 5G connectivity on the road and rail corridors of the European network which includes Via Baltica and Rail Baltica routes.
By the end of 2025, 5G connectivity should cover international land transport corridors and other highways, main railway lines, airports and seaports in Lithuania.
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