Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Monday signed a €1.77 billion contract to electrify the planned Rail Baltica railway, marking the largest rail electrification project in the region.
“This is the first full construction and design contract covering all three Baltic states to electrify Rail Baltica,” said Mark Kivila, CEO of RB Rail, the joint venture coordinating the project.
The project will require about 2,400 kilometres of overhead contact lines, 50,000 poles and 10 substations, according to RB Rail.
Under the agreement, the first phase of electrification is due to be completed by 2030. In Lithuania alone, the works will cost an estimated €818 million.
“Modern railways are unthinkable without electric trains,” said Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of Lithuanian Railways (LTG). The agreement ensures a coordinated approach across all three countries so the project can move forward smoothly, he added.
Construction of the railway itself is progressing in stages, with electrification to follow. Lazauskas said parts of the line will already be electrified by 2030, even as other sections remain under development.
By the end of this year, construction will be underway on about 40% of the first-phase routes across the Baltics, Kivila said. “This means the project is reaching a level of maturity we have not seen before,” he added.
The total cost of Rail Baltica’s first phase is estimated at €15.5 billion: €6.6 billion in Lithuania, €5.5 billion in Latvia and €3.2 billion in Estonia. In Lithuania, the main line will be built first, followed by a section linking Kaunas and Vilnius after 2030.
Kivila said costs are being reviewed continuously and expressed hope that the EU’s next multiannual budget will provide additional support, especially for transport and military mobility projects.
Funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility has already more than doubled, and military mobility financing is expected to increase more than tenfold, he noted.
Rail Baltica is intended to link the Baltic states with the European standard-gauge rail network. Lithuania and Poland are expected to connect their lines by 2028, with the entire project scheduled for completion in 2030.
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