Rail Baltica

Warsaw - Tallinn (- Helsinki)
Route length:	Warsaw – Tallinn approx. 870 km Tallinn – Helsinki approx. 110 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	25 kV, 50 Hz  ~
Power system :	17  ∆
Top speed:	240 km / h
Countries :	Finland , Estonia , Latvia Lithuania , Poland
Course direction:	North South
Expansion:	two-pronged , electrified
Operational sites and structures
Legend Planning status December 2019 -112 Helsinki freight yard -106.53 Helsinki-Vantaa Airport -93.0 Helsinki-Pasila -89.3 Helsinki Central Railway Station Gulf of Finland ( Baltic Sea ), Finnish - Estonian border Tallinn-Balti jaam (broad gauge) 0 Tallinn parking facility 0.4 Tallinn oil list Railway line to Narva , Tartu (broad gauge) Port freight station Muuga 4.43 Tallinn depot 10.85 Rae freight yard 14.57 Assaku (at least emergency platform) 21.18 Luige 27.17 Saku 34.72 Kurtna 39.25 Kohila 61.72 Rapla 84.66 Järvakandi 93.52 Kaisma 111.06 Tootsi 127.11 Kilksama 135.36 Pärnu freight yard Pärnu (river) 139.44 Parnu 156.36 Surja 175.56 Haedemeste Estonian- Latvian border 213.01 Salacgrīva 237.96 Overtaking point Tuja 262.86 Sculte Railway line to Riga (broad gauge) Freight station Skulte 287.36 Military station and overtaking point Ādaži Gauja 295.86 Vangaži Railway Rīga - Valga - Tartu (broad gauge) Vangaži railway workshop 297.63 Overtaking point Vangaži 316.7 Upeslejas triangular branch 321.70 Saurieši 325.40 Acone Acone parking area 6.92 Salaspils freight yard Rīga – Daugavpils railway line (broad gauge) Salaspils (at least emergency platform) 333.55 Slāvu tilts Railway lines to Valga, Skulte (broad gauge) Vagonu parks Railway lines to Valga, Skulte (broad gauge) 338.06 Rīga Pasažieru Daugava 340.05 Torņakalns Railway line to Jelgava (broad gauge) Zasulauks Railway line to the mouth of the Daugav (broad gauge) Depo Zolitūde 345.70 Imanta Railway line to Jūrmala, Tukums (broad gauge) Rīga Airport freight yard 350.85 Riga airport 356.90 Jaunmārupe 362.80 Olaine 370.70 Ķekava Baldons 388.10 Triangular branch Misa 401.12 Iecava 423.52 Bauska 436.04 Latvian- Lithuanian border 446.79 Vaškai overtaking point 469.74 Joniškėlis Freight station / storage facility Panevėžys 499.74 Panevėžys railway line Radviliškis - Daugavpils (broad gauge) 519.19 Uliūnai overtaking point 531.49 Ramygala 538.49 Anciškis overtaking point 560.49 Pasrauciai ( Kėdainiai ) Ručiūnai freight yard Railway line Vilnius - Klaipėda (broad gauge) 575.49 Ručiūnai 582.49 Jonava 582.99 Neris Railway line to Gaižiūnai (broad gauge) Railway line to Vilnius ( see below ) Kaunas Airport Railway line to Vilnius (broad gauge) 604.49 Kaunus- Palemonas (Start of normal / broad gauge double line) (Tunnel with four-rail track) 614.11 Kaunas (beginning of existing standard gauge track) Memel 629.78 Juragiai overtaking point Kazlų Rūda 650.28 Overtaking point Ąžuolų Būda 672.78 Overtaking point and freight yard in Marijampolė Marijampolė Marijampolė 692.78 Overtaking point Šeštokai (beginning of the four-rail track) Mockava freight yard (end of broad gauge track) 707.94 Lithuanian- Polish border 711.37 Trakiszki Suwałki – Mockava railway line to the Suwałki terminus ~ 736 Suwałki to the Suwałki terminus Olecko – Suwałki railway line ~ 770 Olecko Ełk – Chernyakhovsk railway line ~ 800 Ełk Głomno – Białystok railway line ~ 900 Białystok Petersburg-Warsaw Railway ~ 1080 Warszawa Centralna Towards Berlin
Branch to Vilnius
Legend Railway line to Minsk, Daugavpils (broad gauge) 99.46 Vilnius (left: broad gauge, right: standard gauge) (Beginning of four-rail track) Vilnius Airport (end of standard gauge track) Railway line to Baranavichy (broad gauge) Paneriai Vokė Vaidotų parking station 92.96 Lentvaris Railway line to Trakai, Marcinkonys (broad gauge) Kariotiškės Rykantai Lazdėnai Baltamiškis 68.06 Vievis Chewing pies 24.96 Žasliai only overtaking point for Rail Baltica 33.96 Kaišiadorys Railway line to Radviliškis (broad gauge) Railway line to Kaunas (broad gauge) Gaižiūnai – Kaunas railway line (broad gauge) Rail-Baltica main line Tallinn – Kaunus ( see above )

The Rail Baltica is under construction new rail link , which of Warsaw via Kaunas and Riga to Tallinn - with connections to Helsinki by ferry or tunnel to lead -. The EU member states Poland , Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia and Finland are involved .

The line is to be in the standard gauge of 1435 mm that is customary in Western Europe and not in Russian broad gauge of 1520 mm, as was previously the case there . The total length will be 870 km, the speed set by the EU is 240 km / h, on expansion sections 160 km / h. The planned travel time between Tallinn and Riga should be just under two hours after completion, and between Riga and Vilnius two hours. The total construction costs are estimated at 5.79 billion euros, of which the European Union is expected to pay 4.634 billion. Earlier studies assumed a value of 3.68 billion euros. Rail Baltica is the priority project of the Trans-European Networks V 27. Jörg Vollmer also points out its military importance.

history

Plans for Rail Baltica have been in existence since 1994. The decision was made to build the connection in 2001 in Wismar ; completion was then planned for 2015. After Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia became EU members in 2004, the Rail Baltica railway line was listed by the European Union as "Priority Project No. 27". Several factors prevented rapid progress: Since the planned route did not include a detour via the Lithuanian capital Vilnius , the Lithuanian government was initially hesitant about the project. The economic crisis of 2008/2009 and the associated budget problems also made financial planning difficult. In 2012, construction started in 2018 and completion in 2023.

In June 2014, the three Baltic states signed an agreement to build the line. In the same year, the three Baltic countries founded the joint venture RB Rail , which coordinates the implementation of the project. The agreement on procurement guidelines was signed in November 2016.

On January 31, 2017, the heads of government of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed an agreement on implementation, which had to be ratified by the parliaments of the three countries. The deadlines, the course of the route and the technical standards were laid down in it. Donald Tusk as President of the EU said support to on this occasion. The Estonian Riigikogu ratified the agreement on June 19, 2017 , the Latvian Saeima on June 22, and the Lithuanian Seimas on October 10 of the same year . Rail Baltica is scheduled to start operating in 2026.

course

→ Main article : Trans-European networks

Warsaw to the Polish-Lithuanian border

The modernization work for the 66 km long section from Warsaw to Sadowne was carried out in 2014. The further route of 107 km to Białystok is to be completed by 2020, the remaining 79 km from Białystok to the Lithuanian border by 2022 . The total costs for the Polish section of the route amount to around 1.8 billion euros, around half of which is financed by the EU.

Polish-Lithuanian border to the Lithuanian-Latvian border

The costs for the expansion of the route were calculated in 2007 at 270 million euros. Completion was planned for the end of 2013. In July 2011, the mixed-lane four-rail expansion of the 15 km long section between Mockava and Šeštokai was completed as the first section of the Rail Baltica. In July 2013, the Lithuanian State Railway Company signed a contract to convert the section from Šestokai to Marijampolė to standard gauge. The renovation of the 28 km long section should take 19 months and cost 217 million euros.

The first section from the Polish border to Kaunas was inaugurated on October 16, 2015, partly as a four-rail track . However, this section is only designed for a top speed of 120 km / h. Since June 2016 there have been direct train connections from Poland to Lithuania ( Białystok - Kaunas ) on the regular track at weekends .

Lithuanian-Latvian border to Jelgava and Riga - Valka

A first draft of the route, developed between 2014 and 2016, had no consequences. In 2020, the contracts for the design work for the Latvian route sections were awarded again. The drafts should be available by the end of 2022.

In the course of the construction of Rail Baltica, Riga Central Station ( Rīgas dzelzceļa stacija ) will be completely rebuilt.

Estonia

The tracks were renewed on the Valga - Tartu section; the Valga station was rebuilt and the number of its tracks increased. The section was completed in December 2010. The cost was around 40 million euros. Work on another section of the route began in November 2019.

The port of Muuga near Maardu , northeast of Tallinn, is to be undeveloped to become a cargo transshipment point between sea, road and rail transport with a rail connection of both gauges.

Tunnel under the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki

→ Main article : Talsinki

A tunnel under the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki would cost an additional 13 billion euros.

The maximum width of the Gulf of Finland is 130 kilometers. The average depth is 38 and the maximum depth is 115 meters. The length of the tunnel would depend on the route. At the shortest distance, it would have a length of around 50 km, making it the longest underwater tunnel in the world. Completion would not be possible until 2030 at the earliest .

On March 7, 2019 announced that the Chinese investment company Touchstone Capital Partners are and the tunnel company FinEst Bay Area Development under the direction of Peter Vesterbacka prepared as part of the Belt and Road (New Silk Road) -Infrastrukturinitiative around 15 billion euros in the construction project to invest. Geological preliminary planning is currently still taking place.

literature

Planning and cost-benefit calculations

in order of appearance

• Marta Jakubiec: The Rail Baltica and its impacts on the regions regarding the European Union . Diploma thesis, University of Dortmund 2007.
• Beate Schütz: What contribution can the INTERREG transport projects “COINCO”, “Rail Baltica” and “SIC!” Make to eliminating the lack of north-south corridors? Master's thesis, University of Applied Sciences for Administration and Justice, Berlin 2007.
• Jürgen Murach, Jürgen Roß: Rail Baltica Growth Corridor. Between vision and economic reality . In: Information on spatial development , ISSN  0303-2493 , vol. 17 (2012), issue 7/8: European traffic corridors and spatial development, pp. 415-426.
• Milla Laisi, Juha Saranen: Integrating the Baltic States and Europe: Rail Baltica . In: International journal of business excellence , ISSN  1756-0047 , vol. 6 (2013), pp. 251-269.

Studies on the tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki

• Usko Anttikoski. "Fixed transport connections across the Baltic from Finland to Sweden and Estonia. Preliminary feasibility assessment. " 2007.
• “Emerald, Vision 2050” (PDF; 4.0 MB) Greater Helsinki Vision 2050 - International Ideas Competition. 2007.
• Ilkka Vähäaho, Pekka Raudasmaa. "Feasibility Study, Helsinki-Tallinn, Railway Tunnel" Geotechnical Division of the Real Estate Department of the City of Helsinki. 2008.
• Jaakko Blomberg, Gunnar Okk. “Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and Finland 2008” Prime Minister's Office, Finland. 2008.

Web links

• Official website of the project company
• Former website of the project from the planning phase (until 2008), preserved by a Polish car dealer (English)
• Website of the project in Lithuania (Lithuanian, English, Polish, Russian)
• Rail Baltica project company in Latvia (in Latvian)
• Rail Baltica project company in Estonia (in Estonian)
• Rail Baltica (a reportage from Estonia) on YouTube
• Jüri Reinvere : The price for a Baltic Bullerby (FAZ, May 15, 2020)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Baltic States approve Rail Baltica project's design guidelines , accessed on August 17, 2018.
2. ↑ Operational Plan - Rail Baltica Track Layout - Time horizons 2026 - 2036-46 - 2056 - Version 2.5. (PDF; 714 KB) Rail Baltica, December 16, 2019, accessed on May 23, 2020 (English). 
3. ^ Rail Baltica: Preparation of the Operational Plan of the Railway Final Study Report. (PDF; 22 MB) Rail Baltica, November 15, 2018, accessed on May 23, 2020 (English). 
4. ↑ Rudolf Hermann: The ambitious project "Rail Baltica": Highest Railway for the Baltic Express In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung on 16 December 2016th
5. ^ ^{A b} Rail Baltica - Building a bridge to the European standard-gauge network . in: International Railway Journal of June 15, 2017, accessed on September 13, 2017.
6. ↑ Project Rail Baltica would cost EUR 3.68 bln . In: The Baltic Course of June 28, 2011, accessed October 4, 2011.
7. ^ Lithuanian Radio LRT from June 26, 2020
8. ↑ Reinhard Wolff: The construction of the Rail Baltica has begun: Fast trains to the Baltic States . In: The daily newspaper: taz . March 5, 2020, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed March 6, 2020]).
9. ↑ ^{a b} OWC Verlag für Außenwirtschaft: In the same line: High-speed project Rail Baltica is picking up speed , from September 29, 2014.
10. ^ Estonian Economy Minister: Finland an important factor in Estonian success . In: Helsingin Sanomat , accessed March 26, 2012.
11. ↑ Beatrice Bösiger: Rail Baltica brings Europe together. (No longer available online.) DVZ, November 28, 2016, archived from the original on December 14, 2016 ; accessed on August 2, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Arnis Kluinis: Rail Baltica agreement signed , nra.lv of February 1, 2017 (Latvian).
13. ↑ Baltic states want to implement railway project . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of February 1, 2017, p. 2.
14. ^ Peter Kleinort: "Rail Baltica" agreed. Heads of government sign project contract. EU co-financed . In: Daily port report from February 2, 2017, p. 2.
15. ↑ Rail Baltica agreement ratified by all three Parliaments. Railway Gazette, October 12, 2017, accessed February 12, 2018 . 
16. ^ Rail Baltica procurement to ramp up this year. Railway Gazette, January 23, 2019, accessed February 3, 2019 . 
17. ↑ Kallas: EU's support should be focused on visible transeuropean projects . In: The Baltic Course of July 15, 2011, accessed October 4, 2011.
18. ↑ Standard gauge to reach Marijampole . In: Railway Gazette of July 24, 2013, accessed August 1, 2013.
19. ^ First section of Rail Baltica inaugurated . In: Railway Gazette of October 16, 2015, accessed February 28, 2017.
20. ↑ The design works to start for the whole Rail Baltica main line in Latvia , April 6, 2020, accessed May 21, 2020.
21. ↑ PLH Arkitekter Wins Rail Baltica Competition with Arch-Inspired Infrastructural System ( Memento of March 8, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), press release of December 10, 2016, accessed on March 7, 2017.
22. ↑ Varsha Saraogi: Works begin on Rail Baltica high-speed line . Railway Technology, November 29, 2019, accessed December 30, 2019.
23. ^ Rail Baltica Estonia: Rail Baltics brings major changes to Muuga cargo port . In: railbaltica.org . May 8, 2020. Retrieved on May 21, 2020: "Muuga freight terminal is one of the most important objects of the project in terms of Rail Baltica freight transport, the development of which will increase the value and competitiveness of both the railway and Muuga Harbor . Muuga Harbor will have a rather unique infrastructure combination that enables to operatively reload goods from sea transport and road transport to railway transport of different widths and vice versa. "
24. ↑ Carsten Schmiester: Plans for the “Talsinki” super tunnel under the Baltic Sea . In: Deutschlandfunk , January 8, 2016.
25. ↑ Finland's connection to Rail Baltica becomes concrete: the Chinese want to invest 15 billion in the Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel. In: nordisch.info. March 8, 2019, accessed March 8, 2019 .