The Memorandum of Understanding indicates that the choice of the Upesleja-Riga Central Station connection or the Misa-Riga Airport connection will be based on a separate technical-economic justification, which will determine which of the two connections is more advantageous from an economic, technical and financial perspective. In order to realize this, it is planned to attract alternative financial solutions, such as public-private partnership (PPP).
Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens (P) emphasizes that in the first phase of the project, Latvia must ensure the creation of a cross-border connection, which is given the highest priority and urgency to ensure compliance with Latvia’s national economic and security interests and the fulfillment of international obligations. The minister also adds that a European gauge connection with at least one of Riga’s two international “Rail Baltica” stations must be established.
“The upcoming European Union (EU) multi-year budget negotiations will be crucial for Latvia and the project, which will determine how much EU funding will be available for the “Rail Baltica” project. The availability of this funding will also determine how soon we will be able to implement the first round of the project,” adds the minister.
The MOU offer in the first round envisages the construction of a single track from the Lithuanian border to Estonia, starting construction works on the Lithuanian border-Misa section and according to the available funding. It is also planned, by redistributing the resources of the Regeneration and Resilience Mechanism (RF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) available to the traffic industry, to complete the construction works started at both Riga international stations – Riga Airport and the southern part of the Riga Central Railway Station, in order to give functionality to these objects.
It is planned to build a new railway line from Imanta station to Riga airport, thus connecting both passenger stations with a broad-gauge railway and integrating Riga airport into the existing railway network even before the construction of the European gauge rail line. At least four regional stations – Salacgrīva, Skulte muiža, Salaspils/Daugavkrasti, Bauska – are planned to be built at the same time, taking into account that overtaking roads are also planned in these places, as well as infrastructure maintenance points in Iecava and Skulte, traffic control centers and side roads for the future Salaspils cargo terminal.
In parallel with the creation of a cross-border connection, which is given the highest priority and urgency, it is planned to create a European gauge rail connection with one of the two Riga international stations, which is planned to attract, for example, PPP. On the other hand, it is planned to primarily direct the financing of the EU funds to the financing of the activities mentioned in the previous points.
The total cost of the implementation of the first phase cross-border connection from the border of Estonia to the border of Lithuania, using only the freight bypass through Salaspila, is 4.5 billion euros. On the other hand, the total cost of the infrastructure of the two international passenger stations and related tracks is 875 million euros, while the construction of point objects, including the infrastructure maintenance points in Iecava and Skulte, the traffic control center and the Salaspils side road cargo terminal, as well as four regional stations, requires 133 million euros. .
The estimates of the joint venture of the Baltic states AS “RB Rail” show that 629 million euros would be needed for the implementation of the Riga section Upeslejas-Riga Central Station, while the Misa-Riga airport section would require 924 million euros.
The MoU emphasizes that these estimates are based on the initial technical study and the technical solutions proposed therein. With the active cooperation of all involved parties, including during the preparation of the construction project, it will be possible to change and simplify the technical solutions, which could significantly reduce the amount of investment required in these stages.
At the same time, the Memorandum of Understanding indicates that work is underway to optimize the total construction costs of the project in order to reduce the amount of estimated funding for the implementation of the first phase. The project implementers review the technical solutions that could be built in the next rounds and identify cost items where it would be possible to simplify the technical solution, for example, highway crossings, access roads, noise walls and the like.
From 2015 to 2024, by participating in the tenders for project submissions announced by the European Commission (EC) for the allocation of financial assistance from the European Infrastructure Interconnection Instrument (EISI), including from the Military Mobility envelope, a total of EUR 1.426 billion in funding was attracted in Latvia, including co-financing from the state budget .
In the last EISI call for the EU’s multi-year budget planning period from 2021 to 2027, announced in September 2024 of this year, Latvia could indicatively attract an additional 160 million euros, which would allow the continuation of construction works in the southern part in the direction from Lithuania to Salaspils.
For the completion of Riga international stations in the first round of the “Rail Baltica” project, the Memorandum of Understanding proposes to use the EU AF and KF funds earmarked for the railway industry, including from the purchase of battery electric trains, which are projects with a high risk of failure.
According to the conclusions of the inter-institutional finance working group, it is planned to attract the missing funding for the rest of the first-round activities from CEIF and other EU grant programs, state budget co-financing and other financial sources. The Memorandum of Understanding emphasizes that the Ministry of Finance plays a critically important role in planning, securing funding and harmonizing project financial flows with state budget processes, the Ministry of Economy in negotiations with potential private investors, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in negotiations on the next EU multi-year budget. Currently, under the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, work has begun on Latvia’s national position for the next EU multi-year financial period, which will be from 2028 to 2034.
The Memorandum of Understanding informs that the construction of the next stages of “Rail Baltica”, which will allow the implementation of the full scope of the project, depends on the availability of funding. In the view of the MoU, in order to obtain maximum socio-economic benefits for Latvia and the Baltic region, it is essential to build all the infrastructure elements provided for in the “Rail Baltica” project.
In the second round of the project, the MoU sees as a priority the creation of a full-fledged and passable “Rail Baltica” main line corridor through Riga, creating a passenger main line in accordance with the “Rail Baltica” route determined by the Cabinet of Ministers in 2016, as well as the technical and functional requirements specified in the TEN-T regulation.
In parallel, the MoU is working on an informative report on the national funding required for the implementation of the “Rail Baltica” project in 2024-2025, which will inform about the amount of funds needed to complete the started works and to achieve the goals of the concluded financing agreements. The Ministry notes that this year the MoU has reduced the required amount by more than 20 million euros to about 15 million euros, and in 2025 – to 50 million euros.
At the same time, in accordance with previous government decisions, the evaluation of administrative cost optimization of “Rail Baltica” implementing organizations continues, as well as the MoU has prepared an informative report on the permission for the MoU to conclude a general agreement on the purchase of consolidated materials in the “Rail Baltica” railway construction procurement and the draft law “”Rail Baltica” project implementation law” “.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding, the first-round solution will also ensure the fulfillment of Latvia’s international obligations and will allow to approach the minimum volume required for the implementation of the project within the deadline set by the European Transport Network (TEN-T) regulation. Also, the MoU believes that this solution will provide the greatest added value to the population of Latvia and the economy, allowing to start the gradual operation of the built “Rail Baltica” infrastructure.
It has already been reported that according to the research report on the situation of the “Rail Baltica” project carried out by the highest audit institutions of the Baltic States, there is currently no clarity about the operation and management model of the “Rail Baltica” railway line,
According to the data of the latest analysis of costs and benefits of “Rail Baltica”, the total costs of the railway line in the Baltics may reach 23.8 billion euros, including the costs of the first round of the project in the Baltics could be 15.3 billion euros, of which in Latvia – 6.4 billion euros. In the previous cost-benefit analysis in 2017, it was estimated that the project would cost a total of 5.8 billion euros.
In Latvia, the construction of the main line of “Rail Baltica” is planned to start in 2024.
The “Rail Baltica” project envisages the creation of a railway line of European standard gauge from Tallinn to the border of Lithuania and Poland, so that it would be possible to connect the Baltic states with other European countries by rail. In the Baltic States, it is planned to build a new, 870-kilometer-long railway line of European gauge (1435 millimeters) with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometers per hour.
Source: www.diena.lv
