Latvia has reached another milestone in the Rail Baltica project with the start of construction of its main line.Representatives of the European Commission and international partners from France, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia came together. The occasion was marked by the sending of a message to future generations in the form of a time capsule that will be buried at the construction site.
“Rail Baltica brings us a step closer to the “Europe of trains” mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, that we are building, for a concrete, powerful, sustainable, and united Europe,” said Minister of Foreign Trade of France Franck Riester.
“We need Rail Baltica for economic development and to bring the Baltic countries closer to Europe. Rail Baltica has strong support from the European Commission, especially since the war, as its importance has increased even more,” says European Coordinator for the North Sea-Baltic TEN-T Corridor Catherine Trautmann. “It is not just a priority; it is a necessity. Rail Baltica is often cited as an example of transitioning to a new railway system. It is crucial to mobilize knowledge and expertise, and Latvia has successfully done that for the mainline construction.”
ERB Rail JV, appointed by Rail Baltica's national implementing body in Latvia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas, will oversee the construction of some 230km of mainline. This will include 175 civil engineering structures, 11 animal crossings, 42 viaducts, 81 road bridges and 32 railway bridges.
Construction will take place in stages. The first stage will be in the Bauska region, near Iecava, where the future Rail Baltica infrastructure maintenance centre will be located. The maintenance centre will cover an area of approximately 16.5 hectares. The aim is to facilitate the construction of connections to the existing 1520mm track network and to maximize the use of the rail network to transport construction equipment and machinery.
The start of construction of the Rail Baltica mainline is an important milestone that demonstrates the progress of the project and makes it more tangible. More than 150 km of the Rail Baltica main line will be under construction this year. The construction works for the Rail Baltica mainline will include railway substructure, embankments, road crossings and railway superstructure, including tracks and other related infrastructure. The total cost of this Red FIDIC contract is estimated at approximately €3.7 billion.
