In the solemn ceremony of starting the construction works, members of the Seimas and the Government of Republic of Lithuania, high-ranking visitors from Lithuania and EU Member States interested in successful implementation of „Rail Baltica“ project, the Management Team of AB „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ and other persons directly bound with implementation of the project were presented.

 

Minister of Transport and Communications Eligijus Masiulis noted that „Rail Baltica“ is a real opportunity to strengthen the position of Lithuania as a transit state, to integrate it in the European transport infrastructure and to get rid of the label of a back-country. „The European railway track for connecting us with Europe is the interest of the national scale. It is our chance to improve the quality of the national transport services, to attract more cargoes, and to strengthen our international competitiveness. Finally, we’ll use this chance,” the Minister said.

 

 

 

The started reconstruction works are the first stage of implementing the project (that existed only on paper for many years); the European track railway will be helpful in strengthening logistics business positions in the center of Lithuania. Close to Kaunas, a public logistics center will be established.

 

According to Director General of „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ Stasys Dailydka, on the first stage of implementing the project, important transport corridors, such as East-West, „Rail Baltica“, „Via Baltica“, and skyways crossing in the most important intermodal Public Logistics Center in Kaunas will be jointed. „Rail Baltica“ will ensure an opportunity of comfort, safe and well-timed getting to cultural objects as well as to industrial, business and tourism centers of the Baltic States and West Europe within the shortest time.

 

The first decisions on integration of Lithuanian railways in the railway network of the Central and West Europe were passed in the year 1993. In the year 1997, III Conference of European Ministers of Transport in Helsinki recognized the North-South transport corridor No. 1 being the one of European priority. On 29 April 2004, the European Parliament and European Council approved the list of underlying transport projects. In this list, the joint project of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia „Rail Baltica“ is the 27th. Some later, the position of the project in the said list of priority fluctuated; however, the project remained in the list. On 7 July 2009, the Transport Investments Directorate and „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ signed an agreement on distributing the functions; according to the Agreement, AB “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” became the project manager.

 

On 7 April of the current year, the Government recognized „Rail Baltica“ as an important project for the national economy. It is supposable that this decision will enable settling problems of the project implementing more efficiently, thus increasing the competitiveness of this railway line and the whole state in the regional and world markets.

 

Taking into account the decision of Lithuanian Government and the developed measures for rapid implementing of the project, Vice-president of the European Commission, Transport Commissar Siim Kallas expressed his assent to project „Rail Baltica“.

 

All works under the project „Rail Baltica“ are carried out following the resolution of the Government of Republic of Lithuania “On the plan of the immediate actions to be carried out on implementing project „Rail Baltica““, as of 23 December of the last year. The plan includes a proposal of building the European track (1435 mm wide) along the existing wide track (1520 mm wide) and where it is impossible, a parallel European track should be built.

 

 

 

The construction works on the segment Šeštokai – Mockava are carried out by UAB „Geležinkelio tiesimo centras“ under the contract concluded with AB „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“. The said company will carry out works distributed to seven groups (land works, construction of upper structure of the track, making of provisional crossings, water offtake, repairs of crossings, and works related to elements of buildings). Simultaneously, three bridges will be reconstructed.

According to the Director General of AB „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“, citizens of Lithuania and other EU Member States have heard that „Rail Baltica“ is a hardly startable and more hardly implementable project for a long period. So, it was very pleasant to deny such opinion by announcing the started construction works.

According to S. Dailydka, executor of the project AB „Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ assumed very important task bound with further development of the national railway network thus enabling the railway system to offer new effective decisions in logistics.

„For effective activities of „Rail Baltica“, building of the new tracks and integration in the transport market of European Union are not sufficient measures,” S. Dailydka says. “A total system that would ensure appropriate flows of passengers and cargoes and attract private funds must be formed. For this purpose, public logistics centers should be established, transportation of passengers and cargoes should be developed and close cooperation with other transport sectors should be improved.“

The value of the works on constructing the railway of the European standard „Rail Baltica“ uniting Warsaw, Kaunas, Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki in the national section The Poland-Lithuania frontier -Šeštokai-Marijampolė-Kaunas amounts to about 850 million Litas. Completion of the construction works of the said section is planned in December 2013.