Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the
Baltic states
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
in the European rail network.
Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between
Central and
Northern Europe, specifically the area southeast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. It is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in
Northeastern Europe. The project envisages a continuous rail link with stations from
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
(Estonia) to
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
(Poland), via
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
(Latvia) and
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
(Lithuania), with two branches extending from the main line towards
Riga International Airport and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
(Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic States is , with in Estonia, in Latvia, and in Lithuania.
[Route alternative approved for the future construction of the Rail Baltica railway from Kaunas to the border with Poland](_blank)
railbaltica.org, 12 May 2022. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU). It is part of the
North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the
Trans-European Transport Networks
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) is a planned network of roads, railways, airports and water infrastructure in the European Union. The TEN-T network is part of a wider system of Trans-European Networks (TENs), including a telecommun ...
(TEN-T).
Rail Baltica will add the first large-scale mainline standard gauge railway in the region. Rail networks in
Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
and
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
are mainly using
Russian gauge (1,520 mm). These countries' first railways were built in the second half of the 19th century as part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
rail network. While some railways were built or converted to narrow or standard gauge in the
Interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
between
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in the independent or German-occupied Baltic states, these were later converted back to Russian gauge under
Soviet occupation rule after 1945.
According to a study produced by
Ernst & Young
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
, the measurable socio-economic benefits are estimated at €16.2 billion.
The assessed
GDP multiplier effect the Rail Baltica Global Project would create is an additional €2 billion.
, the high-speed railway connection from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border was expected to be completed by 2026.
In 2020, a private consortium claimed that it could open an undersea railway
tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki by mid-2026,
but this project has been put on hold indefinitely.
Overview

Genesis
The Rail Baltica project results from the three Pan-European Transport Conferences held in Prague (1991), Crete (1994) and Helsinki (1997).
[Pavel Telička, european coordinator]
Priority project No 27 « Rail Baltica » - Warsaw-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki
Brussels, July 2006 (PDF), on the European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
's website. “Rail Baltica” corresponds to the rail element, from Tallinn to Warsaw, of the first of nine
Pan-European transport corridors defined at the Crete conference in March 1994, while the road project is called “Via Baltica” (part of
European route E67
European route E 67 is an E-road running from Prague in the Czech Republic to Estonia and by ferry to Finland. It goes via Prague, Wrocław, Warsaw, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki.
The route is known as the Via Baltica ...
).
Proposed environmental impact
Rail Baltica will be an
electric railway
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), electric multiple units ( passenger cars with their own ...
, motivated by a desire to reduce
carbon emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
. The railway has been planned to avoid
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
protected areas, in addition to minimising impacts on other environmentally sensitive protected areas and existing 1,520 mm gauge railway networking areas. Wherever necessary, noise protection barriers will be installed. Special
animal passages will be built through the embankment.
Stations

The railway project will enable
intermodality and
multimodality
Multimodality is the application of multiple literacies within one medium. Multiple literacies or "modes" contribute to an audience's understanding of a composition. Everything from the placement of images to the organization of the content to ...
, i.e. transportation of freight through two or more methods of transportation. Rail Baltica includes plans for three multimodal freight terminals located in
Muuga Harbour (Estonia),
Salaspils
Salaspils (; ; ) (literally: "island castle") is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Salaspils Municipality. The town is situated on the northern bank of the Daugava river, 18 kilometers to the south-east ...
(Latvia), and
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
(Lithuania). This is intended to create synergies with the existing 1,520 mm railway system infrastructure. There will be seven international passenger stations—in
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
,
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...
,
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, Riga Airport,
Panevėžys
Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
,
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
, and
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
—with potential regional stations and connections to airports and seaports.
The section from
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
to Tallinn will be operated by existing commercial
ferries
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
...
. A proposed
Helsinki to Tallinn Tunnel
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
was considered to provide a rail link between the two cities. At the end of April 2021, governments of Estonia and Finland signed a
memorandum of understanding committing themselves to cooperation in the area of transport. In February 2024, the tunnel was judged by Finnish
Minister of Transport and Communications,
Lulu Ranne to be unrealistic and that it was not on the agenda of the government.
Parameters
Rail Baltica will be built as a new, publicly owned, fast conventional double-track railway. If the railway runs freight trains, it will be quadruple-track. It will be electrified and equipped with the
European Rail Traffic Management System
The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...
(ERTMS) and
FRMCS for signalling and communications. The maximum
design speed
The design speed is a tool used to determine geometric features of a new road or street during road design. Contrary to the word's implication, the design speed of the road or street is not necessarily its vehicle speed limit or maximum safe spe ...
is for passenger trains, while the maximum operational speed will be .
For freight trains, the maximum design speed is . The new railway line will be built as standard gauge. Other key technical parameters include:
* The maximum freight train length will be .
* The maximum
axle load
The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight bearing on the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Axle load is an important design consideration in the engineering of roadways and railways, as both are designed to tolerate a m ...
will be .
* No
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
s with roads.
* No
flat crossings with the (
Russian gauge) rail network.
* For maintenance and emergency services, access to the main line should be every and in specific areas.
* The railway will have ballasted track.
* Its electrification is to use
2 x 25 kV AC.
* Its double track side should be
right-hand running.
* It is
ERTMS Level 2, Baseline 3.
* It is built to a
SE-C loading gauge.
The network's parameters are in accordance with the EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI – P2, F1).
The design phase began in 2016, with design activities at the Riga Central Passenger Station and the Riga International Airport passenger station in Latvia to be continued until 2023. Meanwhile, the construction of the Rail Baltica infrastructure started in 2019, the first operations should start on some of the sections by 2028 and the overall corridor should be completed by 2030.
The overall length of the railway between Tallinn and Warsaw will be at least , while the length within the Baltic States proper will be .
Project organization
Project implementers
The Rail Baltica project is implemented by the three Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
announced in February 2019 that it will also join the project.
The beneficiaries of the Rail Baltica project are ministries of the three Baltic States: Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Latvia's Ministry of Transport, and Lithuania's Ministry of Transport and Communications. In 2014, they established RB Rail AS, a joint venture that acts as the main coordinator and project implementer for the project. Its main business is the design, construction, and marketing of the railway. RB Rail AS also submits EU financing proposals for the Rail Baltica purchasing body for all parties for the procurement of studies, plans, designs for the Global Project, sub-systems (control, command, and signalling and energy/electrification), raw materials, key components, and cross-border track sections.
Rail Baltic Estonia OU in Estonia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas SIA in Latvia, and Rail Baltica statyba UAB and LtgInfra in Lithuania are the national implementing bodies.
All construction carried out by the implementing bodies is done under the supervision of RB Rail AS and is based on common procurement principles, rules, and contract templates.
Financing

A feasibility study of Rail Baltica in the three Baltic States carried out by
AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...
in May 2011 estimated a cost of €3.6 billion for the railway and proved that Rail Baltica is economically viable. Based on that study, key political and practical decisions—both on the national and EU level—were made to implement Rail Baltica.
Since the AECOM study, the project has grown to include additional elements to the Rail Baltica Global Project for better connectivity, passenger mobility, and inter-modality. These additions include routing the Rail Baltica passenger mainline through the Riga International Airport and the construction of the airport passenger station (Latvia), the Kaunas–Vilnius connection (Lithuania), an improved connection in Kaunas (Lithuania), and the construction of the Ülemiste–Tallinn airport tram line (Estonia). Moreover, the preparation of environmental impact assessments, spatial planning, and some preliminary designs has provided better investment estimations for the project.
Thus, in April 2017, the overall cost of the Rail Baltica Global Project implementation in all three countries—including the construction of the Kaunas–Vilnius section—was estimated to be €5.8 billion, according to a cost-benefit study carried out by
Ernst & Young
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
and
Atkins International experts, based on the European Union's CBA guidelines.
The analysis showed that the project was financially feasible and viable, social benefits were proved, and its measurable benefits would outweigh the costs. This provided the necessary updated parameters for continued EU and national co-financing of the project.
The project's profitability lies in its wider socio-economic benefits, which Ernst & Young estimated to be around €16.22 billion. In addition, several immeasurable (mostly catalytic) benefits would be created through regional integration, such as tourism development, new business creation, increased attractiveness to FDI, access to new export markets, technological transfer, and innovation.
The project is financed by the member states, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
TEN-T budget, and the Structural and Cohesion Funds provided to the EU New Member States. By the start of 2018, the three Baltic States and RB Rail AS had received two grants totaling €765 million designed under the
CEF for the construction of the Rail Baltica railway. On 13 July 2018, a third grant agreement was signed for an additional €130 million, of which €110 million was CEF contribution. In July 2020, another CEF funding was received, amounting to €216 million for construction, technical design, and planning works. In total, the project has received around €1.2 billion from the EU and national funds.
In October 2023 Rail Baltica joint venture of the Baltic States, RB Rail AS, announced the signing of an additional cross-border Grant Agreement for Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding, which amounted to 928 million euros CEF support. This substantial funding, combined with national co-financing from the three Baltic States, will exceed 1.1 billion euros, enabling necessary activities for further high-speed infrastructure development.
Project progress
In 2017, all three Baltic parliaments ratified the Inter-Governmental Agreement for the Rail Baltica project, thereby confirming their long-term commitment to the project.
In August 2016, the spatial planning for the entire Rail Baltica railway line was approved in Latvia by the decision of the Latvian Government. This was followed by the approval of the Lithuanian Government in January 2017 for their respective section from Kaunas to the border with Latvia. The route for the section from Kaunas to the border with Poland, known as Rail Baltica I, is subject to the results of an Upgrade Feasibility Study. On 14 February 2018, the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Estonia approved the spatial plan for the line in Estonia, leading to the setting of the final route and preliminary design of the railway in the country. With Estonia's decision, the spatial territorial planning and preliminary technical design of the Rail Baltica railway in the Baltic states was finalised.
The Rail Baltica project entered the design phase in all three Baltic States with the approval of detailed design guidelines. Certain sections have finished consolidating preliminary technical design, tendering the detailed technical design services, and preparing a
BIM strategy. On 20 March 2018, the first Rail Baltica construction design and supervision contract—for Rail Baltica's Riga International Airport railway station, related infrastructure, and viaduct—was signed by Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas SIA and PROSIV, the winner of the open international tender and a partnership of suppliers from three countries: Prodex (Slovakia), Sintagma (Italy), and Vektors T (Latvia).
In 2018, studies related to commercialisation and supply materials were finalised, including a long-term business plan, an operational plan, an infrastructure management study, and an upgraded feasibility study of the European gauge railway line from Kaunas to the Lithuanian–Polish border. In 2019, the first cornerstone of Rail Baltica was laid in Estonia to mark the beginning of construction of the
Saustinõmme viaduct. Also, detailed technical design contracts were signed for the following sections: Tallinn–Rapla and Pärnu–Rapla in Estonia, Kaunas–Ramygala and Ramygala–Latvian/Lithuanian border in Lithuania, and Vangaži–Salaspils–Misa and the main line through Riga in Latvia.
With the contracts signed, geotechnical research was started in different sections of the railway in order to gather information about the soil.
In 2020, the development of detailed technical design had progressed to cover of the main track, which included all railway sections in Estonia and Latvia as well as sections from Kaunas to the Latvian/Lithuanian border in Lithuania.
In Estonia, discussions about environmental impact assessment were started and meetings were planned until the end of 2020. During the discussions, people were invited to ask questions regarding the project's environmental impact, while various technical solutions were presented.
In Latvia, the Riga Central Station construction was officially started with ceremonies on 23 November 2020. On the 3rd of February 2021, the project implementer of Riga Airport Station was also chosen; construction began in May 2021 and is ongoing . Talks with
NGOs in Riga were started to discuss technical solutions within the city, especially for infrastructure elements such as crossings and overpasses.
The
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
has raised the importance of this European project, because of the connectivity across Europe that it will create, for civilian and military travel. Lithuania has a new commission to speed construction within the cities (freight terminal facilities and passenger depot). Estonia faces cost increases and construction delays.
, the project completion is scheduled for 2030, with services starting in 2028 on some sections.
[Rail Baltica – Project of the Century"](_blank)
on the Rail Baltica official website, accessed on 26 April 2023.
Rail Baltica I (completed in 2015)
The name "Rail Baltica" is also sometimes used to mean the first phase of European gauge railway construction from the Poland/Lithuania border to Kaunas in Lithuania. It was inaugurated on 16 October 2015. The project, which built one track at European standard-gauge alongside the existing Russian gauge tracks, cost €380 million. The 119 km line accommodates diesel trains, with passenger trains running at up to 120 km/h and freight trains at up to 80 km/h. Higher speeds will depend on future electrification, a new signal system, and more level crossing gates. In June 2016,
Lithuanian Railways and
Polregio started weekend passenger train service between Kaunas and
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Biał ...
.
In Estonia and Latvia, implementation of the Rail Baltica I project included upgrades of the existing rail lines in the region. The Russian gauge line from Tartu to
Valga (on the Latvian border) in Estonia was renovated between 2008 and 2010. The work was done by the Finnish
VR Group
VR-Group Plc (, ), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With ...
for a cost of €40 million.
Planning phase: route and standard

The planning phase of Rail Baltica took place from 2010 to 2017. In 2011, the three Baltic States agreed on a route connecting Tallinn,
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...
, Riga,
Panevėžys
Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...
, and Kaunas.
A feasibility study for this option estimated the line would cost about €3.68 billion in total.
During the planning of the location of the project route in the Baltic States, a conceptual agreement among the three countries was reached that the railway should be as straight as possible, as this provides the highest benefits at the lowest cost. The shorter and more direct the route is, the faster traffic it can ensure, which economically has the highest advantage compared to its alternatives. This was confirmed by an AECOM study in 2013.
Initially, two options were considered. Both options included upgrading the existing
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
railway to enable travel speeds of up to along the stretch in Poland from Warsaw via
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Biał ...
and
Ełk
Ełk is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of Ełk County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a glacier, and is surrounded by extensiv ...
to
Trakiszki,
followed by a new railway with standard gauge from Trakiszki to Kaunas. For the remainder of the route to Tallinn, two different options were considered:
# The first option was to upgrade the existing state-owned Tallinn–
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...
–Riga–
Joniškis railway to 160 km/h (maintaining its
Russian gauge) and build a new state-owned railway from Joniškis–Kaunas with 160 km/h, also at Russian gauge. However, because of the
break of gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and railroad car, rolling stock g ...
at Kaunas, passengers would have to change trains there. For freight, a reloading facility or a
bogie exchange station would be placed near Kaunas. This option was already completed as Rail Baltica I.
# The second option was a new standard gauge railway with speed and 3 kV DC power (the same voltage as in Poland) from Kaunas via Joniškis to Riga, as above, but then continuing in a shorter, straighter line via
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...
to Tallinn.
This option was chosen as the preferred route. The existing Lelle–Pärnu line in Estonia was permanently closed for passenger operations on 9 December 2018, as it required a €17 million refurbishment.
The
Šiauliai
Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...
–Latvian border rail section (using broad gauge) was newly built and scheduled to be finished in 2015 with an estimated cost of €270 million. In Latvia, the existing railway upgrade between Riga and Valka was finished in 2016 at a cost of €97 million. The EU contributed about 25% of the cost for the three parts.
Construction (2017–present)
Baltic states (new line)
In 2017, the parliaments of the three Baltic States ratified the intergovernmental agreement on Rail Baltica, stating that the "route shall be from Tallinn through Pärnu–Riga–Panevėžys–Kaunas to the Lithuanian/Polish state border with a connection of Vilnius–Kaunas as a part of the railway"
and defining a design speed of 240 km/h for passenger travel. Thus, the Rail Baltica Global Project route was aligned from Tallinn until Kaunas, with the pre-existing European gauge railway line section from Kaunas to the Lithuanian/Polish border being subject to the results of the Upgrade Feasibility Study. Nevertheless, in April 2018, the Ministries of the three Baltic States approved the design guidelines of Rail Baltica, which state that the maximum design speed will be 249 km/h and maximum operational speed should be 234 km/h.
For the Kaunas (Jiesia)–Lithuanian/Polish border section, a 78.1 km route named "alternative 6A" was approved in May 2022 by the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications, taking into account the opinion of the majority of the local residents.
This optimal route is the shortest among the alternatives which were proposed and the most remote from the urban areas.
On 29 February 2024, construction on the Rail Baltica Riga Central Railway Station reached the rooftop, which was celebrated with a ceremony according to Latvian tradition. This train station is expected to become the busiest in the Baltics once Rail Baltica is fully operational.
Poland (line upgrade plus new section)
The line from Warsaw to the Lithuanian border, almost 400 km long, is currently being modernized, which will increase maximal speed to 200 km/h, and even 250 km/h on some sections, compared with operating speeds of around 120 km/h previously.
[From Tallinn to Warsaw: Rail Baltica’s progress in Poland strengthens high-speed connectivity across Europe](_blank)
on the railbaltica.org website, 24 Feb. 2025. This will reduce journey times from over 5 h to around 3 h.
The project is divided into 5 sections, Warsaw-Sadowne, Sadowne-Czyżew, Czyżew-Białystok, Białystok-Ełk, and finally, Ełk-Lithuanian border, this last section having the particularity of including a new line construction and having to be newly electrified using the 25 kV AC system.
As of 2025, the last of these sub-projects is scheduled for completion shortly after 2030.
Benefits
The Baltic railway infrastructure will be connected to the European railway corridor, ensuring high-speed passenger travel and freight movement. Rail Baltica creates the possibility to shift the major freight transport in the regions from road to rail, which is currently being transported towards Russia and then north by heavy trucks. In the case of Poland, trucks follow local roads and directly cross the villages of
Podlaskie Voivodeship
Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
.
According to the 2017 cost-benefit study by Ernst & Young, the benefits from Rail Baltica are calculated to be:
* €7.1 billion saved in climate change and noise reduction
* 30–40% relevant truck traffic flow shifted to railways
* 13,000 jobs created during the construction phase
* €5.3 billion saved for passenger and freight travel
* 5.3 million passenger hours saved
* 400 human lives saved in 29 years
All in total, measurable socio-economic benefits are estimated at €16.2 billion. The assessed GDP multiplier effect the Rail Baltica Global Project would create is an additional €2 billion. It is also claimed there will be "substantial unmeasurable benefits".
In late April 2022, implementers of the Rail Baltica project presented the progress at the European Parliament where the strategic and geopolitical security importance of the project was stressed repeatedly in reference to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
Criticism
Criticism started after the feasibility study published by
AECOM
AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation; stylised A''Ξ''COM) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The company's official name from 1990–2015 was AECOM Technology Corporation, ...
in 2011, with the government of Lithuania keen to include a link to Vilnius. The mayor of
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...
, Estonia's second-largest city, called for the city to be included in the route.
In 2013, the
Estonian Association for the
Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing list of global issues, global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in R ...
advised the government to abandon the Rail Baltica route. Problems in the environmental assessment programme have also been claimed.
In 2017, two Estonian environmental groups claimed that the lack of public participation on the decision made by Baltic governments and building of a new line, rather than upgrading the existing network, is in conflict with the
Aarhus Convention
The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered into ...
.
In 2016 and 2017, three open letters were composed in Estonia which called on the Estonian government and parliament to stop the project in its planned form. The main arguments in these letters were that the new track as a greenfield project will cause too much damage to nature and does not essentially improve travel possibilities.
On 8 June 2017, Priit Humal,
Karli Lambot, Illimar Paul, and Raul Vibo, experts on logistics and engineering, published a critical analysis of the Rail Baltica cost-benefit analysis made by
Ernst & Young
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
, claiming that €4.1 billion of the stated socio-economic benefits are faulty and therefore the Rail Baltica project was neither feasible nor eligible for EU financing. They asked for comments from RB Rail AS, the Rail Baltica coordinator, who provided answers four months later. The authors of the first study claimed that the issues raised in their previous analysis were not adequately addressed in the official replies and that therefore Rail Baltica will be detrimental to society.
The authors of the critical analysis have been accused of having a conflict of interest, as one of the authors owns a logistics company. It has been claimed that Rail Baltica would decrease the volume of business for road transport businesses. The author has denied these claims.
See also
*
Via Baltica (E67)
*
Helsinki–Tallinn Tunnel
*
Rail transport in Estonia
*
Rail transport in Latvia
*
Rail transport in Lithuania
*
Rail transport in Poland
*
Rail transport in the European Union
*
Pan-European Corridor I
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
Official website– Rail Baltica Global Project
''Planned route of Rail Baltica on Open Street Map''* European Commission
Pavel Telička, July 2007 – July 2008
Information about Rail Baltica on the TEN-T website of Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
* European Commission
Feasibility study on Rail Baltica railways – Main conclusions and recommendationsJanuary 2007
* European Commission
Feasibility study on Rail Baltica railways – AnnexesJanuary 2007
Baltic countries' agreement on Rail Baltica project to be signed at the beginning of summer
{{Authority control
European Union transport policy
Rail transport in Estonia
Rail transport in Latvia
Rail transport in Lithuania
Rail infrastructure in Poland
Proposed rail infrastructure in Europe
Higher-speed rail
High-speed rail in Europe
Proposed transport infrastructure in Estonia
Proposed transport infrastructure in Latvia
Proposed transport infrastructure in Lithuania
Projects of the Three Seas Initiative