Increased attention to Rail Baltica in Latvia doing no good to project - Silina

RIGA - Increased attention to Rail Baltica in Latvia is doing no good to the railway project, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said at a joint press conference of the Baltic prime ministers in Tallinn today.

She noted that the project is being widely discussed and receives a great deal of public attention in Latvia, including through the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiry in the Saeima. "In politics, everyone competes for attention. I do not think this is good for the project," said Silina.

At their meeting in Tallinn, the Baltic prime ministers discussed the shortage of funding for Rail Baltica, as well as the need for the prime ministers of the three countries to coordinate their actions to secure this funding.

According to Silina, it would be great if the Baltic states managed to secure the planned funding for the project in the European Union's next multiannual budget.

As reported, the cost of the first phase of the Rail Baltica project in the Baltics could reach EUR 14.3 billion, including EUR 5.5 billion in Latvia.

The total cost of the project could reach EUR 23.8 billion in the Baltics, according to the cost-benefit analysis. A previous cost-benefit analysis in 2017 estimated the total cost of the project at EUR 5.8 billion.

The Rail Baltica project will build a European standard gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border to connect the Baltic states with other European countries by rail. A new 870-kilometer European standard (1,435 mm) railway line with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometers per hour will be built in the Baltic states.