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Rail Baltica
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. The project envisages a continuous rail link for passenger and freight services with stations from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), via Riga (Latvia) and Kaunas (Lithuania), with two branches extending from the main line towards Riga International Airport and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic states is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania.
Rail Baltica will build the first large-scale mainline standard gauge railway in the region. Rail networks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania mainly use Russian gauge (1,520 mm). These countries' first railways were built in the second half of the 19th century as part of the Russian Empire rail network. While some railways were built or converted to narrow or standard gauge in the Interwar period between World War I and World War II in the independent or German-occupied Baltic states, these were later converted back to Russian gauge under Soviet occupation rule after 1945.
According to a study produced by Ernst & Young, the measurable socio-economic benefits are estimated at €16.2 billion. The assessed GDP multiplier effect the Rail Baltica Global Project would create is an additional €2 billion. As of 2025[update], the completion of the phase 1 single-track railway from Tallinn to the Lithuania-Poland border is scheduled for 2030, with completion of the double track railway to follow dependent on funding. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and it is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. It has also been proposed to extend Rail Baltica to include an undersea railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki.
The Rail Baltica project results from the three Pan-European Transport Conferences held in Prague (1991), Crete (1994) and Helsinki (1997). “Rail Baltica” corresponds to the rail element, from Tallinn to Warsaw, of the first of nine Pan-European transport corridors defined at the Crete conference in March 1994, while the road project is called “Via Baltica” (part of European route E67).
Rail Baltica will be an electric railway, motivated by a desire to reduce carbon emissions. The railway has been planned to avoid Natura 2000 protected areas, in addition to minimising impacts on other environmentally sensitive protected areas and existing 1,520 mm gauge railway networking areas. Wherever necessary, noise protection barriers will be installed. Special animal passages will be built through the embankment.
The railway project will enable intermodality and multimodality, i.e. transportation of freight through two or more methods of transportation. Rail Baltica includes plans for three multimodal freight terminals located in Muuga Harbour (Estonia), Salaspils (Latvia), and Kaunas (Lithuania). This is intended to create synergies with the existing 1,520 mm railway system infrastructure. There will be seven international passenger stations—in Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Riga Airport, Panevėžys, Kaunas, and Vilnius—with potential regional stations and connections to airports and seaports.
The section from Helsinki to Tallinn will be operated by existing commercial ferries. A proposed Helsinki to Tallinn Tunnel was considered to provide a rail link between the two cities. At the end of April 2021, governments of Estonia and Finland signed a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to cooperation in the area of transport. In February 2024, the tunnel was judged by Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne to be unrealistic and that it was not on the agenda of the government.
Rail Baltica will be built as a new, publicly owned, fast conventional railway. It will be electrified and equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and FRMCS for signalling and communications. The maximum design speed is 249 km/h (155 mph) for passenger trains, while the maximum operational speed will be 234 km/h (145 mph). It is to operate as a single track railway as part of phase 1 of the project, with a double-track railway remaining in the project's scope. For freight trains, the maximum design speed is 120 km/h (75 mph). The new railway line will be built as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Other key technical parameters include:
Rail Baltica
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. The project envisages a continuous rail link for passenger and freight services with stations from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), via Riga (Latvia) and Kaunas (Lithuania), with two branches extending from the main line towards Riga International Airport and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic states is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania.
Rail Baltica will build the first large-scale mainline standard gauge railway in the region. Rail networks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania mainly use Russian gauge (1,520 mm). These countries' first railways were built in the second half of the 19th century as part of the Russian Empire rail network. While some railways were built or converted to narrow or standard gauge in the Interwar period between World War I and World War II in the independent or German-occupied Baltic states, these were later converted back to Russian gauge under Soviet occupation rule after 1945.
According to a study produced by Ernst & Young, the measurable socio-economic benefits are estimated at €16.2 billion. The assessed GDP multiplier effect the Rail Baltica Global Project would create is an additional €2 billion. As of 2025[update], the completion of the phase 1 single-track railway from Tallinn to the Lithuania-Poland border is scheduled for 2030, with completion of the double track railway to follow dependent on funding. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and it is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. It has also been proposed to extend Rail Baltica to include an undersea railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki.
The Rail Baltica project results from the three Pan-European Transport Conferences held in Prague (1991), Crete (1994) and Helsinki (1997). “Rail Baltica” corresponds to the rail element, from Tallinn to Warsaw, of the first of nine Pan-European transport corridors defined at the Crete conference in March 1994, while the road project is called “Via Baltica” (part of European route E67).
Rail Baltica will be an electric railway, motivated by a desire to reduce carbon emissions. The railway has been planned to avoid Natura 2000 protected areas, in addition to minimising impacts on other environmentally sensitive protected areas and existing 1,520 mm gauge railway networking areas. Wherever necessary, noise protection barriers will be installed. Special animal passages will be built through the embankment.
The railway project will enable intermodality and multimodality, i.e. transportation of freight through two or more methods of transportation. Rail Baltica includes plans for three multimodal freight terminals located in Muuga Harbour (Estonia), Salaspils (Latvia), and Kaunas (Lithuania). This is intended to create synergies with the existing 1,520 mm railway system infrastructure. There will be seven international passenger stations—in Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Riga Airport, Panevėžys, Kaunas, and Vilnius—with potential regional stations and connections to airports and seaports.
The section from Helsinki to Tallinn will be operated by existing commercial ferries. A proposed Helsinki to Tallinn Tunnel was considered to provide a rail link between the two cities. At the end of April 2021, governments of Estonia and Finland signed a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to cooperation in the area of transport. In February 2024, the tunnel was judged by Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne to be unrealistic and that it was not on the agenda of the government.
Rail Baltica will be built as a new, publicly owned, fast conventional railway. It will be electrified and equipped with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) and FRMCS for signalling and communications. The maximum design speed is 249 km/h (155 mph) for passenger trains, while the maximum operational speed will be 234 km/h (145 mph). It is to operate as a single track railway as part of phase 1 of the project, with a double-track railway remaining in the project's scope. For freight trains, the maximum design speed is 120 km/h (75 mph). The new railway line will be built as 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Other key technical parameters include:
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