Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are aiming to take their railway destinies more firmly in hand through Rail Baltica, a multinational effort to improve freight rail connectivity between Central and Northern Europe. Running from the port of Tallinn, Estonia, south through Latvia and Lithuania, the high-speed, standard-gauge line will connect with Warsaw, Poland, and ultimately, Berlin.
Construction of Baltica 1, the first 115-kilometer segment between the Polish-Lithuania border and a new intermodal terminal in Kaunas, Lithuania, is under way. Five Lithuanian contractor teams, chosen through a public bidding process conducted by Lithuanian Railways, started work between May and July 2013, with completion expected by late 2015.