RIGA - Lithuania and Latvia's transport ministers on June 27 signed a memorandum on the Baltic Rail project, finally agreeing on where the line will cross the border and its approximate routes.
The rail line will cross the border at Joniskis in Lithuania and Meitene in Latvia. The border crossing sector will stretch from Lithuania's Siauliai to Latvia's Jelgava, Lithuania's Transport Ministry said in a statement.
Lithuanian Transport Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said the countries have yet to agree on the technical parameters of the rail line and set timeframes for the implementation of the project, as well as to discuss information exchange procedures and other issues.
Along with Latvian Transport Minister Ainars Slesers, the two agreed that in the first stage of the Rail Baltica project, the existing infrastructure between Kaunas and Riga will be upgraded.
More comprehensive studies will be required for a further implementation of the project.
The countries will apply for EU funding for the first stage of the project, the Transport Ministry said.
The Rail Baltica coordinator, Pavel Telicka, has said that it may take between four-and-a-half and nine-and-a-half years to complete the rail link.
