The first EU funding agreement in the Rail Baltica project was successfully implemented in Lithuania

This is the first such completed contract in the Rail Baltica project. The contract, executed from 2015 to the end of 2022, included line construction works at the Kaunas node, a feasibility study of the electrification of the line from Kaunas to Poland, and a project for land acquisition works for the construction of the line from Kaunas to Latvia.

“This is a significant message from the European Commission, which shows that we are reliable partners who prove that we are able to manage the project and ensure efficient use of funds. In addition, the successful use of CEF funds increases the maturity and importance of the Rail Baltica project at the EU level, which is important for obtaining subsequent financing and supporting the project at the EU level, especially considering the accelerating construction and other works that are still waiting for us”, said Egidijus Lazauskas, head of the LTG group.

One of the most important parts of the completed project was the construction work carried out at the Kaunas node – almost 15 km of European standard railway was built in it. The completed works made it possible to connect the Kaunas intermodal terminal with the European railway transport network in 2021. Thus, KIT became the point farthest to the East in this network, which NATO equipment can also reach on the European track.

“The works provided for in the contract, although of a small scale, are the first construction works of the Rail Baltica railway, the importance, meaning and added value of which are created for Lithuania, both from the economic and security point of view, are huge”, say the companies of the LTG group responsible for the implementation of the project. Vytis Žalimas, manager of LTG Infra.

In the course of the project, a project on the acquisition of land from Kaunas towards Latvia was also financed – at that time, it was planned to buy 1245.9 hectares of land, as well as a feasibility study of the electrification of the railway section Poland-Lithuanian border – Kaunas (KIT).

According to V. Žalim, the successfully implemented EU treaty is an important message for all Baltic countries and an example of concrete results of the CEF financing instrument. The scope of the work carried out in the Rail Baltica project will only increase – last year, the European Commission allocated an additional 928 million euros for the development of the European railway track in the Baltic States. EUR, of which Lithuania’s share reaches as much as 394 million. euros. This is the largest funding that Lithuania has ever received from the European Infrastructure Networking Facility.

“Rail Baltica” is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, during the implementation of which an electrified European-standard two-track railway will be built, connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pern and Tallinn. The total length of the Rail Baltica railway line in the Baltic countries is 870 km: in Lithuania – 392 km, in Latvia – 265 km, in Estonia – 213 km.