Rail Baltica
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NewsWreath of European plants tops out Riga Central station
LATVIA: A Rail Baltica and Europe-themed wreath formed the centrepiece of the topping out ceremony for the new station building at Riga Central. The station is being extensively remodelled to improve facilities for services on the existing broad gauge network as well as accommodating the Rail ...
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NewsLithuanian rail operator pilots ‘competitive green logistics’ in the three Baltic States
EUROPE: Lithuania’s LTG Cargo has operated a pilot freight train through Latvia to Valga, the first station in Estonia. On February 23 CEO Eglė Šimė said LTG Cargo plans to start offering ‘competitive green logistics services’ in the three countries in the near future, as a ...
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NewsVilnius – Riga passenger train to launch in December
EUROPE: Lithuanian passenger operator LTG Link expects to launch a through service from Vilnius to Riga in Latvia in December, filling a gap in the European passenger rail network. A track access agreement has been signed with the Latvian infrastructure manager, Latvian speaking drivers have been ...
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NewsRail projects receive share of €6·2bn of Connecting Europe Facility grant funding
EUROPE: Various rail enhancement schemes are among the 107 projects on the Trans-European Transport Network which have been allocated a total of €6·2bn under the latest EU Connecting Europe Facility grant provisions.
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NewsRail Baltica Academy to provide project insights for all
EUROPE: The Rail Baltica Academy is to hold its third series of online public lectures from May 22, aiming to provide a broad audience including industry professionals, policymakers, students and future users with insights gained from the cross-border standard gauge line project. The lecture programme is ...
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NewsVilnius Railway Node design tender announced
LITHUANIA: Infrastructure manager LTG Infra launched design procurement for Rail Baltica’s Vilnius Railway Node on February 13. The procurement covers the design of Vilnius station, which will become the country’s main hub for Rail Baltica international passenger services, the regional stations at Vilnius Airport and Lentvaris, ...
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NewsBaltic States discuss Vilnius – Riga – Tallinn passenger service and gauge conversion
EUROPE: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to explore options to launch a passenger service between their capitals using existing 1 520 mm gauge railways, ahead of the completion of the future Rail Baltica 1 435 mm gauge line. The lack of through services between the Baltic ...
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NewsRail Baltica regional station design contract signed
ESTONIA: National Rail Baltica project implementation body Rail Baltic Estonia has awarded Ardanuy Ingeneria a €368 000 contract to design seven stations for use by regional passenger services on the future 1 435 mm gauge line. The stations at Assaku, Luige, Saku and Kurtna in the ...
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NewsThree Seas high speed network proposed to link Warszawa with Tallinn, Budapest, Praha and Kyiv
EUROPE: Memoranda of understanding for co-operation on the development of new and enhanced rail links between capital cities in central and eastern Europe, including Kyiv, were signed at the Railway Direction Days 2023 conference in Warszawa.
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NewsVTG Rail targets Baltic freight opportunities
LITHUANIA: VTG Rail Logistics has increased its presence in the Baltic region, rebranding VTG Project Logistics as VTG Rail Logistics Baltics to act as a full-service rail forwarder with ‘advanced tailor-made solutions’ and an international reach. ‘The ongoing Rail Baltica corridor project will connect five EU ...
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News€353m Rail Baltica grant agreement signed
EUROPE: A grant agreement which will see the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility provide €353·9m for the Rail Baltica project has been signed by the European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive Agency, ministries from the three countries and tri-national implementation agency RB Rail. This will fund the ...
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In depthViewpoint: Institutional fragmentation has undermined Rail Baltica
On paper Rail Baltica is a perfect match for the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility programme. But three issues need to be addressed, argues Kaspars Briškens, who recently stepped down as Head of Strategy & Development at the standard gauge railway project.
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NewsAmber Train links the Baltic States to western Europe
EUROPE: A trial Amber Train service between the Baltic States left the Estonian port of Muuga on September 13, arriving the following day at Kaunas in Lithuanian where its load of semi-trailers was transferred to 1 435 mm gauge wagons for onward transport to destinations including ...
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NewsRail Baltica shadow operator appointed
EUROPE: A joint venture of the German national railway’s DB Engineering & Consulting business, Spanish national operator RENFE Operadora and consultancy Ineco is to act as shadow operator for the Rail Baltica project. The €8m contract was signed by Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail and ...
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Metro Report InternationalTallinn tram extension contract signed
ESTONIA: A contract has been awarded for the design and construction of the Vanasadama tramway extension which will connect Tallinn’s Old Harbour with the future Rail Baltica station at Ülemiste. Valued at €36·5m +VAT, the contract was signed on August 9 by the city’s public works ...
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NewsRail Baltica freight terminal design contract awarded
LATVIA: A joint venture of local company BRD Projekts and Italian firm Sintagma has been awarded a contract for detailed technical design of the Salaspils intermodal terminal to be served by Rail Baltica. The terminal near Rīga will have 1 520 and ...
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NewsRail Baltica electrification procurement begins
EUROPE: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail has begun procurement of the electrification systems for the future standard gauge line between Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, saying it will be the largest railway electrification scheme in Europe to be implemented as a single project. The energy ...
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NewsRail Baltica route to the Polish border selected
LITHUANIA: The Ministry of Transport & Communications has selected its preferred route for the Polish border to Kaunas (Jiesia) section of the future 1 435 mm gauge Rail Baltica corridor. Four options had been studied by a joint venture of Sweco Lietuva and DB Engineering & ...
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NewsBusiness opportunities as Rail Baltica looks 150 years ahead
EUROPE: ‘What will this look like in 150 years?’ is a question being asked by Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail, which sees the greenfield construction project as offering opportunities to take a very long-term view of where rail technology is heading, and to apply best ...
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NewsInvasion of Ukraine ‘has increased the geopolitical relevance of Rail Baltica’
EUROPE: ‘The Russian invasion of Ukraine reaffirms the need to connect the Baltic states to the rest of Europe’, said Catherine Trautmann, the European Commission’s co-ordinator for the North Sea – Baltic TEN-T corridor, on April 13, when Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail set out ...