Transport Minister Eugenijus Sabutis says that the European-gauge railway "Rail Baltica", which will connect the Baltic countries with Western Europe, will be built to Vilnius as soon as possible - as soon as the necessary financing is secured. It is expected that construction work on this railway branch to the capital will begin after 2030, after the construction of the main line in Lithuania is completed. Until then, Vilnius could be connected using a variable gauge mechanism.
"The Rail Baltica project is strategic and will be implemented in stages. The first stage ensures the connection of Lithuania with Western Europe via Kaunas, and the second stage envisages the expansion of the European railway track to Vilnius. I can assure you that Vilnius is an integral part of Rail Baltica, but it will be implemented after 2030, after the construction of the main line is completed," says Minister of Transport E. Sabutis.
According to E. Sabutis, Rail Baltica is also an important military mobility project, which aims to secure European Union (EU) funding after 2027, after the current EU investment program ends.
Lithuania has already secured 1,6 billion euros for the implementation of the Rail Baltica project until 2030, and will seek to obtain an additional 4 billion euros in funding. According to Minister E. Sabutis, discussions are already underway with the European Commission regarding funding for the second phase of the project.
Taking into account the existing railway infrastructure between Vilnius and Kaunas, it is being considered to temporarily use a variable gauge mechanism. In such a case Beautiful the train would switch from the European gauge to the broad gauge and, without changing the composition, reach the capital.
"Having assessed the changed geopolitical situation and aiming to use finances efficiently, together with the European Commission and our Baltic partners, we decided to plan the project in a more cost-effective way: to build a functioning international line connecting the three countries with priority." Poland and the rest of Europe, and then, based on available funding, build the remaining connections. In this way, we would not only “unlock” the project’s benefits for society, business, and military mobility earlier, but we would also save money,” says Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of LTG Group.
Lithuania leads the Baltic states in terms of progress in the construction of the European-gauge Rail Baltica line – construction is currently underway on a 46,3 km section between Kaunas and Panevėžys. Work is planned to be extended to 114 km by the end of the year.
Due to the complexity of the project and the aim to align the technical requirements for a European railway with the expectations of local residents, the planning solutions for the section connecting Kaunas and Vilnius are being further refined.
in Latvia and in Estonia, the project is also planned to be implemented in two stages: construction of the main line is planned until 2030, and installation of connecting sections after 2030.
