Transportation
2024 Global Sourcebook: Connecting the Baltic Region With Rail
More than 300 firms from multiple European nations are involved
Rail Baltica is an 870-km network connecting Baltic Sea nations to Europe's existing network.
Photo courtesy of LTG Infra
9,944
Number of deep-draft transits through the Panama Canal in fiscal 2024
Source: Panama Canal Authority
Rail Baltica, a multinational effort to integrate Baltic Sea nations into Europe’s rail network, is showing progress at various locations along its 870-km route. Jointly funded by individual countries and the European Union, the electrified double-track railway will accommodate train speeds of 249 kph, says the Rail Baltica website.
Since design began in 2016, some 300 companies based in Baltic nations and in those in the EU have been engaged for the project. In Lithuania, which will contain nearly half of the Rail Baltica mainline, multiple contractors are working on new track and structures, including a 1.51-km, 40-m-high bridge over the Neris River built by Italian contractor Rizzani de Eccher. LTG Infra, the state-owned firm overseeing Lithuania’s implementation of Rail Baltica, plans in 2025 to complete another 114 km.
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Earlier this year, ERB Rail joint venture, composed of Budimex S.A. (Poland), Eiffage Génie Civil SAS (France) and Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A (Italy), broke ground for Latvia’s 220-km section. The $3.9-billion effort includes 175 structures and 11 wildlife crossings, with initial work taking place in the Bauska region, where a maintenance center will be located. An estimated $595 million multi-year modernization and expansion program is in progress for the historic Central Station in the capital of Riga
Estonia shortlisted five consortia for design and construction of its 213-km mainline section. The country plans to award two contracts totaling nearly $1 billion in the first half of 2025. Having fallen at least five years behind its original schedule due to routing disputes and funding concerns, Rail Baltica aims for full operation in 2030.
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