Further EU funding of Rail Baltica project have been secured
An important step securing the further European Union (EU) funding for the development of the project “Rail Baltica” has been concluded in Tallinn, says press center of Lithuania’s Ministry of Transport and Communications. Three Grant Agreements, securing the flow of roughly EUR 734 million in EU co-funding to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, were signed in a meeting between the negotiating groups of the Baltic States and the European Commission.
“This is a result of a continuous and laborious work that was only possible because of coordination, commitment, and drive towards a shared goal by all the partners involved. Following the positive outcome of the selection process of the first call for projects of the new CEF, this is the confirmation that we move full-steam towards the concrete implementation of the project. It is now up to the beneficiaries of these projects to turn the actions planned into reality so that the target date 2025 can be kept for the completion of the line in the Baltic States. We shall not cease” said Coordinator for the North Sea-Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Network Catherine Trautmann.
Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Grant Agreements were earmarked for three projects: development of the 1435 mm standard gauge in the “Rail Baltica” corridor in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (EUR 442.23 million, applicant Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Joint Venture RB RAIL AS); construction of several “Rail Baltica” European standard gauge sections between the Polish-Lithuanian border to Kaunas, preparation to install European standard gauge from Kaunas to Lithuanian-Latvian border (earmarked EUR 105.90 million, applicant JSC “Lithuanian Railways”) and reconstruction of “Rail Baltica” section in Poland.
EUR 131.21 million will be earmarked for the “Rail Baltica” project to be developed on Lithuanian territory.
In addition, in order to ensure the EU co-funding for other stages of “Rail Baltica” development, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland are preparing to submit applications for the second CEF call of 2016. Under this call, Lithuania plans to submit the list of activities to be proposed under the application with a total value of EUR 197.58 million.
The CEF for Transport is the funding instrument that aims to remove bottlenecks, enhance rail interoperability, bridge missing links, and, in particular, improve cross-border sections. In addition, it aims to deploy efficient and sustainable freight transport services within the estimates of future traffic flows, ensure the upgrade of all modes of transport with an increased uptake of energy-efficient systems and adopt safety-enhancing technologies, as well as create an integrated network with optimized transport systems.
