EUROPE: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail and Lithuanian infrastructure manager LTG Infra have awarded DB Engineering & Consulting a €38·3m contract to provide design and design supervision services for the 96 km Polish border to Kaunas (Jiesia) section of the future standard gauge railway corridor through the Baltic States.
The contract covers a new section of electrified double track line to be built from the border to Kaunas. This will have connections to the existing standard gauge single track line which runs alongside the 1 520 mm gauge line from Poland to Kaunas and will continue to be used for freight, including military cargo.
‘The Rail Baltica link with Poland is our gateway to the west’, said Lithuania’s Acting Minister of Transport & Communications Eugenijus Sabutis on August 11. ‘We expect it to be the first route where high speed, European standard gauge trains will begin operating. I am pleased with the project’s progress — it brings us closer not only to faster and more convenient travel, but also plays a vital role in strengthening the security and development of the entire Baltic region.’
RB Rail CEO Marius Narmontas said ‘Poland remains a key strategic partner in Rail Baltica. It is the only participating country with an operational 1 435 mm [gauge] rail network, providing the essential link to the rest of Europe. Much of the Polish section is already upgraded, and the remaining stretch toward Lithuania is in design — ensuring a synchronised connection on both sides of the border. The Kaunas – Poland section is the gateway that will unlock Rail Baltica’s full potential.’
LTG Infra has also signed three contracts worth €235m for construction works. Tracklaying on 18·9 km of the route between Šveicarija and Žeimiai will be carried out by Leonhard Weiss, while between Kaunas to Šveicarija an 8·5 km section of track formation and structures will be constructed by HISK and a 10·4 km section by a joint venture of Fegda and Tilsta. In July HISK signed a separate €83·4m contract covering 12·1 km of embankment between Šėta and Ramygala.
‘Every metre of European standard gauge track we lay is a step forward into Lithuania’s future’, said Sabutis.
Complex Estonian junction
Meanwhile, Rail Baltic Estonia has awarded TREF Nord a €38·8m contract for the complex Soodevahe multi-level junction where the standard gauge line will cross over the broad gauge network, and the future connection between Rail Baltica and the port of Muuga will be established. A 1·6 km tunnel will be built in a geologically complicated area without disrupting broad gauge operations.
‘Although this is a short section, it is of strategic importance’, said Anvar Salomets, Chair of the management board of Rail Baltic Estonia. ‘Soodevahe will host the connection between the Rail Baltica main line and the Muuga route, enabling the direct flow of international freight from the port to the heart of Europe. This junction is of crucial significance for the Estonian economy.’
