Author: Ilona Bērziņa
The railway track is the most important part of Rail Baltica project from a military standpoint, said former Commander of US Armed Forces in Europe Ben Hodges, expressing confusion as to why there is still no railway track. Former Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces Juris Maklakovs, too, admits there is a need for a military application of Rail Baltica.
The Rail Baltica project was mainly planned to improve passenger and freight mobility, but at the same time it was also positioned as an infrastructure network that meets the needs of military mobility. In Latvia, this aspect of Rail Baltica received special attention only in January 2022, when the Ministry of Transport submitted an application to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to strengthen the military capacity of the Rail Baltica project and also received funding from the CEF Military Mobility Envelope in the amount of EUR 5 million. According to then the Minister of Transport Tālis Linkaits: “In the current geopolitical conditions, the Rail Baltica project is gaining even greater strategic importance. It is especially important to ensure reliable connectivity with Western Europe, and to make full use of the new rail transport connection with Europe also to increase our country’s defence capacity.”
In turn, at the beginning of this year, the “Rail Baltica” project received EUR 51.55 million from the CEF to strengthen the military capacity for Latvia’s priority activities. 50% of this amount is intended for the first stage of construction work and supervision of the “Rail Baltica” joint road and railway bridge over the Daugava River, as well as the creation of a new two-level crossing over the Daugava in Salaspils and Ķekava counties. However, the construction works of the railway line itself are not yet visible. We will see how the situation will change after receiving nearly EUR 397 million (EUR 337.6 million from from CEF, EUR 59.5 million – national co-financing), as it was reported on the 5th of November.
A total of EUR 1.394 billion has been allocated to all three Baltic States for this project.
There is need, but there is no infrastructure
Both the implementers of the project and high-ranking NATO officials point to the importance of Rail Baltica to help strengthen military mobility in the Baltic region – this is not just about Latvia.
For example, Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of the Lithuanian state railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (LTG), emphasized on the official website of Rail Baltica that the number of NATO military trains arriving in Lithuania has been growing every year since 2019, with a 40% increase in 2023.
“This is why this infrastructure is needed and important to both sides.” For his part, Colonel Peter Nielsen, commander of the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU), admitted: “In the event of a military threat, security depends directly on the speed of deployment of NATO allies. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that military mobility becomes one of the highest priorities of national security and that sufficient resources and efforts are devoted to it.”
Unfortunately, for the time being, the only railway section in the Baltic that is compatible with the European standard 1 435 mm track gauge is from Kaunas to the Polish border line, and the same one is built on the same track with 1 520 mm of rail. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will get rid of the “Russian” railway track so soon. What’s more, the Ministry of Transport intends that the Latvian railway network will also consist of 1 435 mm and 1 520 mm lines in the future, as the entire replacement of the existing rail network is not economically justified and we can not hope for it in the coming decades (more in the ministry’s information report).
Meanwhile, in the assessment of the Ministry of Defence, the incompatibility of Latvia’s existing railway system with Western Europe is a significant weakness, which may also pose a safety risk. Because if the EU standard gauge railways allow military equipment to be transported across borders without changing the track gauge, then changing them from “Russian” to “European” gauge at the borders requires both additional time and a logistical challenge. Developed and interoperable railway infrastructure plays a crucial role in the region’s defence preparedness, so the more it is unclear why Latvia wants to “play with blocks”, namely, to build station buildings and all sorts of strange things, such as a bridge support that is not needed yet in the Daugava River, instead of building the basic railway track required by the EU and provided for in the Rail Baltica project.
Kick off with parade entrances and forget about what’s most important
“You’d think they are aware it should be sped up. I am really surprised that Rail Baltica is still unfinished. Part of this project could have been realised already, and from a military point of view, the important part are the railway tracks themselves – build them first,” said the retired US Lt. General Ben Hodges.
Former Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces Juris Maklakovs is confused about delays as well: “I want to laugh at how Latvia is unable to build a railway track and how we start off with parade entrances and forget about what’s most important.” The former commander admits it is possible to use other roads to transport military cargo, but they are narrow, so having a railway is important. “If it [military cargo] is brought to the country on the railway, then there is a way to divert it to specific locations, making the process faster,” he explained.
Meanwhile, VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš” Board member Rinalds Pļavnieks pointed out at the seminar on dual-use infrastructure and military mobility held in Ghent, Belgium at the beginning of this year that “our infrastructure is already able to support military needs for the transportation of particularly heavy and bulky cargo, ensuring national and regional connectivity.”
A different opinion about Rail Baltica
By the way, when talking about the military significance of Rail Baltica, an interesting opinion was expressed by Ene-Margit Tiit, professor emeritus and statistician at the University of Tartu (Why the construction of Rail Baltica should be stopped, TvNet, 06.12.24). “All railways (like other modes of transport) are important for defence, but they must be protected. Compared to the rest of the Estonian railway network, RB is advantageous that it will be located in the western part of the country, with a certain distance from the eastern border of the country. However, this will not protect the railway from attacks, given today’s attack capabilities.” The professor also argues that military technology is developing very rapidly It is very difficult to understand what military value this railway will have in 2030 when this project is completed. “In any case, RB will not be a miracle weapon that will significantly improve Estonia’s defensive capabilities against the aggressor. Above all, what should be considered is the strengthening of the border and the national defence capacity of the country, and not the designation of RB as a military priority,” said Ene-Margit Tiit.