Great freight capacities
Rail Baltica is still far from completion. Nevertheless, a detailed operating plan is already available. Freight trains will be able to run up to three times an hour on the network between Warsaw and Tallinn.
The Rail Baltica project has stalled somewhat of late. Last autumn CEO Baiba Rubesa vacated her post, accusing those involved of paying more attention to their own interests than to the project. It also became known that the undertaking, which will connect the Baltic states to Western Europe, will not be completed by 2026 as originally planned. The delay is expected to push the deadline back by at least two and a half years. In February Timo Riihimäki, a Finn, succeeded the dual Latvian-Canadian citizen Rubesa. He is expected to push Rail Baltica forward regardless of intra-Baltic rivalries.
Three intermodal terminals
At least Rail Baltica is making progress on paper. In March the company presented its operating plan for the 30-year period from 2026 to 2056, which shows the frequency with which passenger and freight trains are expected to run between the end points in Tallinn and Warsaw.
“With the operating plan, we can ensure that Rail Baltica’s infrastructure is used efficiently from day one and that freight and passenger connections can be continuously expanded,” said Jean-Marc Bedmar, the project’s head of systems and operations. For freight transport through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the planners expect two to three freight trains to run every hour.
The trains will be 1,050 m long, be able to manage an axle load of 25 t and operate at a maximum speed of 120 km / h. Rail Baltica expects 80% of the cargo trains to operate intermodally. Three intermodal terminals will therefore also be set up as a part of the project – one in Muuga (Estonia), another one in Salaspils (Latvia) and the third facility in Palemonas (Lithuania). The one in Muuga on the Baltic Sea will also include a port, in order to expedite the shipping of goods towards Helsinki.
Seeking more money
So far, the total cost of Rail Baltica has been estimated at just under EUR 6 billion, of which the European Union will pay 85%. In the coming years, however, the costs are likely to rise further, not least because not all of the new network’s access routes have been included in the project so far.
Lithuania’s transport minister Rokas Masiulis recently wrote a letter to the EU, asking for further financial support for the Kaunas–Vilnius section. At the same time he also listed those parts of Rail Baltica that are already on course in the country. Construction work between the Palemonas terminal and Kaunas has already begun.
The overall Rail Baltica network will probably not be completed until the end of the next decade, observers believe. However, the project has been initiated and the next steps and procedures are clear and in place, so that it can also cope with minor setbacks.
