Riga connection is planned in second phase of Rail Baltica - RB Rail

RIGA - The Riga connection is planned in the second phase of Rail Baltica project, Marko Kivila, Chairman of the Board of RB Rail told LETA in an interview.

He explained that the first stage of Rail Baltica includes the construction of the entire main track by 2030, while the timetable for the second stage has not yet been agreed with the responsible ministries of the Baltic States.

"At the moment, everyone is working to implement the first phase. Once the first phase is in a stable implementation phase, I think there will be more time to discuss the second phase," Kivila said.

He confirmed that there had been a request from ministries to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the two options for connecting Riga's southern and northern routes to the main Rail Baltica route, but that no funding had been earmarked for this yet, so it had been postponed for the time being.

"Latvia should now focus on building the connection to the Lithuanian border and then the bridge over the Daugava to Salaspils, so that a connection with 1,520 millimeter gauge tracks can be created and a shuttle train to Riga stations can be launched to connect Riga to the Rail Baltica main line as soon as possible," Kivila explained.

He said that the first phase of Rail Baltica involves the construction of the entire main line, but in terms of funding priorities in Latvia this will be the section from the Lithuanian border to Salaspils, unless other alternative funding tools are found.

According to RB Rail, a joint venture of the Baltic countries, the cost of the first phase of Rail Baltica in the Baltics could reach EUR 14.3 billion, of which EUR 5.5 billion in Latvia, but potential savings of up to EUR 500 million from optimizing technical solutions are possible, as are other savings.

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.

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.