Rail Baltica can only be implemented with EU funding - transport minister

RIGA - The Rail Baltica railway project can only be implemented with European Union (EU) funding, Transport Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity) told TV3 this morning.

"My personal conviction is that we will be able to develop this route solely with European funding," said Kozlovskis.

He also emphasized that all three Baltic states must be united in implementing the project, as the European Commission views this project at the pan-Baltic level.

"We must do everything we can to avoid undermining each other and pointing fingers, but that is what is happening," said the Minister of Transport, adding that the size of the next allocation will depend on how the countries involved in the project behave during the current planning period.

He also noted that, following an international assessment of the actual costs of the Rail Baltica main line and the potential timeline, the government will decide exactly how the project will be implemented. Therefore, until this audit is complete, it is only possible to speculate to a certain extent about the actual timeline for the project's implementation.

As reported, Estonian Auditor General Janar Holm stated in early June that Latvia’s failure to complete Rail Baltica by the planned deadline of 2030 would inevitably result in costs for Estonia as well.

Holm acknowledged that, objectively speaking, Latvia has no realistic chance of completing the railway section on time, and the amount of money that would need to be allocated to this project in the short term is significant for Latvia.

According to RB Rail, 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-kilometre European-standard (1,435 mm) railway line with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometers per hour will be built in the Baltic States.

Rail Baltica is a double-track, European standard 1,435 mm gauge electrified railway for passenger and freight transport to be built from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The overall length of the railway will be 870 kilometers.