Officials say the troubled and delayed Rail Baltica project is still set for completion by the end of the decade. Three Baltic states could be connected by high-speed rail by 2030. Originally planned to debut in 2025, the Rail Baltica project promises to connect Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with one another and continental Europe.
The three countries said on Saturday they are committed to completing the financially troubled and badly delayed project by the end of the decade. It would link the capitals of , Riga and Vilnius on a new track with passenger trains running at speeds of up to 250 kph. The pan-Baltic joint venture was launched in 2014 with financing primarily provided by the European Union.
Vladimir Svet, the infrastructure minister, said on Saturday after an earlier meeting with the Latvian and Lithuanian transport ministers that “it is still our goal to start passenger and freight train traffic on the entire Rail Baltica route from 2030”. “However, we still have to keep an eye on the growth of costs and find ways to save money and build more efficiently,” he said in a statement. Part of the reason the Rail Baltica project has been so badly delayed is financial.
While the initial 2010 plan saw the project’s total cost at around €3.5 billion, a June joint report by auditors from the three states showcased the venture’s ballooning costs and said the project may need up to €19 billion more funding to be completed. It is unclear how much the EU, which h.