The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has signed two agreements worth €1.4bn in an effort to speed up completion of the Rail Baltica project.
Of this amount, €1.2bn will be funded by CEF and the remainder will be co-financed by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Works planned in Estonia including 58km of main line construction, which will cost €440m. Of this, €352m will come from the CEF and €88 from national sources. Construction will take place on multiple substructure works.
Latvia will undertake €397m of work. This will mainly go towards the line between Misa and the Latvian-Lithuanian border. Money will also be spent on an infrastructure maintenance facility in Skulte.
On the Latvia and Lithuania border, €529m will be spent on 37km of substructure works and 69km of track that will be laid between Kaunas and the border.
A further €29m will go on electrification and overseeing design continuity, system engineering, risk management and project management.
Marko Kivila, Rail Baltica’s interim chief executive, said: “EU support has been instrumental for the three Baltic States. This funding is not just an investment in infrastructure; it’s an investment in a more connected, resilient and unified Europe.
“The project is now preparing to apply for the final funding call for proposals within the current financial period and will work closely with national partners across the Baltic region to secure a strong position in the upcoming EU budget negotiations.”
It was recently estimated that the price the 870km line will rise €19bn to €25bn, more than four times the 2017 estimate of €5.8bn.
Construction of the main line will take place in stages, with work beginning in 2026 and finishing in 2030.
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