A feasibility study on including Vilnius into the Rail Baltica project through a Vilnius-Kaunas section has been presented to EU officials and partners in Ljubljana. According to the study, a journey from Vilnius to Kaunas on the Rail Baltica line would last approx. 38 minutes, compared with around an hour currently.
An agreement with the EU’s executive body on the Vilnius-Kaunas section was reached in April 2014. A study carried out by Aecom in the autumn of that year found that the section would be economically beneficial and would cost around 850 million euros.
Lithuanian Transport Minister Rokas Masiulis insisted recently that the Vilnius-Kaunas link is part of Rail Baltica and should be funded through the same instrument as the whole project. “The European Commission is very much aware of Lithuania’s position. The Vilnius-Kaunas link is part of Rail Baltica and should be funded through the same financial instrument, just as the whole project is. … Any doubts on this agreements might have negative influence on the Rail Baltica project we want to jointly implement by the beginning of 2026″, Masiulis said.
However, the Kaunas-Vilnius section can not become legally a part of the European-standard gauge Rail Baltica until 2023, Henrik Hololei, Director-General for Mobility and Transport in the European Commission, said. “The current TEN-T maps have been completed and they are legally enforced. We just cannot change the maps like that in relation to the Rail Baltica. We will have a review in 2023. I am sure that we will find a way how to take into account the interest of your country when we are making the adjustments to the TEN-T maps next time,” Henrik Hololei said. However, Lithuania could use the EU’s regional support to finance the project estimated to cost 850 million euros, he added.
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