A EUR 928 million is the Rail Baltica financing from the CEF second call, which combined with national co-financing from the three Baltic States, will exceed EUR 1.1 billion, enabling necessary activities for further high-speed infrastructure development to connect the Baltic region with the rest of Europe.
“Rail Baltica project used to be a priority, now it is a geopolitical necessity – we need a resilient transport connection for passengers and freight to and from the Baltic States. Overcoming different gauges is imperative to create an integrated European railway area that brings fast trains to the region and gives citizens new opportunities to travel between the Baltic States and the rest of Europe. An additional EUR 285 million will be allocated to the Rail Baltica line in Poland,” EU Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean said.
The European Commission has selected 107 projects out of a total of 353 submitted in response to the call for proposals published in 2022, to receive over EUR 6.2 billion in EU grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
“This year, our focus is on commencing mainline construction in all Baltic States, which includes the construction of mainline objects and related infrastructure facilities, access roads, as well as implementing key services to enhance interoperability and the cross-border dimension of the project,” said Marko Kivila, interim Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer at RB Rail AS.
RB Rail AS has started the project’s cost-benefit analysis as well as the long-term business plan expected to be completed in the autumn of 2024 which will evaluate Rail Baltica’s economic viability, will secure the needed funding and will optimise the project’s delivery.
The planned CEF financing agreement to be signed between the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) and Rail Baltica in Q3 2023 will support various key activities.
These include construction of railway substructure, civil engineering structures, service/access roads, and road crossings for multiple sections in Estonia, such as Loone to Alu, Harju/Rapla county border to Loone, Parila, Juula, Alu road crossings, and others.
The construction of railway substructure, civil engineering structures, and service/access roads from Ülemiste to Soodevahe, construction supervision services, as well as land acquisition and related procedures for the mainline in Estonia.
In Latvia, the Rail Baltica financing of this call is intended for the continuation of construction works in the main sections of the Rail Baltica project at both international stations – the construction of viaducts over Maskavas and Krasta Streets at the Rail Baltica Riga Central Hub, the access platforms to the hub, the construction of viaducts over Maskavas and Krasta Streets, the relocation of the existing 1520mm gauge tracks to the southern side of the newly constructed station, the construction works of the railway viaduct near Riga International Airport terminal, and the elevation of station platforms.
Additionally, the funding is allocated for the acquisition and design of real estate properties, the establishment of the construction base in Iecava, the construction and supervision works of the main track outside Riga. In Lithuania, mainline construction for the priority section from Kaunas to the Latvian border and land acquisition procedures will be covered from the financing agreement.
The horizontal global project activities include the implementation of the delivery phase for consolidated material management supply, the implementation the railway infrastructure sustainability framework, the continuity of IT infrastructure and solutions implementation and Shadow Operator services for Rail Baltica and others.
The substantial amount of financing recommended for the Rail Baltica global project will be added to the existing funding of over EUR 1.6 billion secured for the implementation of Rail Baltica from CEF and national funding. Together with the recently approved additional financing, Rail Baltica has secured approximately EUR 2.7 billion from CEF and national funding. The estimated Rail Baltica CAPEX in 2017 was EUR 5.8 billion.
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