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To trans-European transport network
Rail Baltica gives hope and causes
passions
 At the end of March, in the meeting of Rail Baltica
project participants and representatives of the European Commission in Brussels, the
Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania Petras Cesna urged
the ministers of the projects countries to grant it a national priority while preparing
national strategic documents on financial perspective of 2007-2013. "We cannot afford
to lose a possibility to connect the Baltic States and the Northern region by rail with
the remaining part of the European Union, and not to make use of advantages provided by
the common market." The leaders of the delegations signed a resolution, where they
agreed to coordinate the actions.
At the beginning of April, the secretary of the Ministry of Communications of the Republic
of Lithuania Liudmila Zumeriene met the representatives of the Danish company COWI A/S,
who are preparing a feasibility study on the Rail Baltica project railway line
construction. They introduced the strategy of the study and the work under execution.
Rail Baltica will provide a realistic possibility to join trans-European network
of railways and combined transport in Europe, it will connect Lithuania with capitals of
EU countries. The planned project implementation stages are Warsaw - Kaunas (2010),
Kaunas - Riga (2014), Riga — Tallinn (2016).
The international project Rail Baltica causes anxiety to representatives of Russian
Railways. At the end of April, the Ministry of Communications of the Republic of
Lithuania disseminated an announcement, which said that the statement of the leader of the
Russian Railways may mislead the society.
"On April 28, the Russian information agency PRAIMTASS announced, that at the forum
in London, the president of SC Russian Railways (Rosyskiye zhelezniye dorogi)
Vladimir Yakunin declared that transition of the Baltic states to the railway track of
European standard will reduce the profitableness of Russian cargo transportation via the
Baltic ports and will induce Russia to develop ports infrastructure in its own territory.
This groundless information misleads business society of Russia and the world. In
Lithuania nobody intends to change the current railway tracks to European standard neither
in the direction of Kaliningrad, nor towards the sea port of Klaipeda. The attempt of
Lithuania to implement the European track project Rail Baltica will have no
negative impact on transportation of Russian cargo.
The objective of the project is the expand the Lithuanian railway infrastructure,
connecting the capitals of the Baltic states with the largest centers of EU countries.
That will help to broaden the potential of Lithuanian transit, will improve passenger
communication, speed up cargo transportation in North-South direction, and will create
more favorable conditions to increase the profitableness of transit cargo transportation.
Implementing the project Rail Baltica, a possibility to construct a new,
corresponding the European standard track, with the help of a partial financing from the
EU Cohesion Funds, is discussed in Lithuania.
The Ministry of Communications takes notice that this was not the first misleading
utterance of the president of the Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin recently
disseminated by Russian media. At the end of March, the daily Gudok announced
that at the meeting of the Board of the Russian Ministry of Transport V.Yakunin declared,
as if Lithuania required that cargo transported via its territory had to be re-loaded to
vans belonging to Lithuanian Railways. It does not correspond the reality,
because the ownership of vans carrying cargo in Lithuania is not regulated.
Similar statements, that do not correspond the facts, can't help the development of
cooperation between transport institutions of Russia and Lithuania, the release noted.
Bids for development
On April 25, the Ministry of Communications of the Republic
of Lithuania submitted two applications for development projects of trans-European
transport networks (TEN-T) in Lithuania. The first application asks for support to prepare
a detailed plan and a technical project for the first stage of European track Rail
Baltica.
The second bid is the preparation of a technical project for infrastructure construction
to reconstruct Klaipeda city Baltija avenue and to construct a terminal for passengers and
cargo. The value of both projects is 17, 1 million litas; from TEN-T funds the financial
support of 50 % is sought.
In the application of Rail Baltica project, it is planned to prepare physical
planning documents and the technical project for the railway line from the Lithuanian -
Polish border to Marijampole, to make a draft of Marijampole railway station. This project
is the first stage to create the international railway route
(Warsaw-Kaunas-Riga-Tallinn-Helsinki). Rail Baltica belongs to the first all
Europe railway network corridor in North-South direction. Under the decision of the
European Parliament and the Council of 2004, Rail Baltica was confirmed to be a
priority project for Europe.
According to a special European standard railway line plan, a fast European width (1435
mm) track railway line in South-North direction in the Lithuanian territory, first of all
is planned to construct from the Polish-Lithuanian border via Marijampole to Kaunas. The
plan provides for a new (85,1 km) railway line, 30 km shorter than the current one, that
corresponds the requirements of international standards. The planned speed of trains on
this line is 160 km/h. The construction of Rail Baltica will vivify social-
economical development of separate Lithuanian regions.
In the second bid of the Ministry of Communications, the support from European Community
TEN-T fund is sought for preparation of technical documents for the reconstruction of the
central access road to Klaipeda port (Baltija Avenue), and for the construction of a
passenger - cargo terminal.
The Baltija avenue is the continuation of Klaipeda - Vilnius highway (part of
trans-European network, corridor IX B). Currently this avenue ends by a crossing of Minija
street, which is located in the central part of the port, but does not have a branch to
the port. Baltija avenue crosses all major streets of the city, and during peak hours in
circular cross-roads traffic jams appear.
The plan provides for preparation of technical projects for the reconstruction of the
Baltija avenue crossings with other city streets and its extension to the port quays,
where in 2009 the construction of a new passenger - cargo terminal is planned. If the
financial support is allocated, those projects will be ready during 2006-207, and the
Baltija avenue reconstruction and the completion of passenger and cargo terminal
infrastructure construction work is planned in 2009.
Prepared according to the information of the RL Ministry of Communications
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