Construction of the first phase of the Rail Baltica railway project could be delayed by three to five years, Māris Dzelme, Chairman of the Board of Latvia’s national Rail Baltica implementing body SIA Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas (EDzL), said on Wednesday in an interview with Latvian Television’s programme Rīta panorāma.
“I think we will be delayed by three to five years,” Dzelme said, adding that a more precise forecast would be possible once it becomes clear when and what amount of funding will be available for the first phase of the project.
He also noted that the first phase of Rail Baltica will be redesigned, both for technical reasons and in order to reduce costs.
“In the first phase, we are not building the full scope, but only a single track with passing loops along the entire route,” he explained, adding that the main line in the first phase will consist of one track instead of the originally planned double track, and that several stations will also be built.
According to Dzelme,
the redesign could cost around eight million euros.
However, he stressed that these costs are justified, as the redesign is expected to save between 100 and 200 million euros.
As previously reported, EDzL is currently trying to reach an agreement with the developer of the existing construction design, the Spanish company Idom, on adapting and redesigning the project. If no agreement can be reached with Idom, EDzL’s head has previously said that a procurement procedure for redesigning the construction project will have to be launched.
The Rail Baltica project envisages the construction of a European-standard-gauge railway line from Tallinn to the Lithuanian–Polish border, enabling the Baltic States to be connected by rail with the rest of Europe. In the Baltic States, it is planned to build a new 870-kilometre-long European-gauge (1,435 mm) railway line with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometres per hour.
On Tuesday, the 2th of January, it was stated at a meeting of the Saeima’s National Economy, Agriculture, Environment and Regional Policy Committee that
three to four billion euros are still lacking to complete the first phase, or main line, of Rail Baltica.
Thirty-three kilometres of the Rail Baltica main line are scheduled to be handed over to the contractor E.R.B. Rail JV at the beginning of 2026.
According to information previously provided by RB Rail, the cost of Rail Baltica’s first phase in the Baltic States could reach 14.3 billion euros, of which 5.5 billion euros would be in Latvia. However, there is potential for savings of up to 500 million euros through optimisation of technical solutions, as well as other possible savings.
The total cost of the project in the Baltic States, according to the cost–benefit analysis, could reach 23.8 billion euros. In the previous cost–benefit analysis conducted in 2017, the total project cost was estimated at 5.8 billion euros.
Read also: Rail Baltica finally moves forward in Latvia – construction to begin on a 30–35 km section