Procurements for Rail Baltica infrastructure announced in Lithuania

In the continuation of the works of the European railway track Rail Baltica at the Kaunas railway node and the section Jiesia (Kaunas) – the border between the states of Lithuania and Poland, procurements for the design of infrastructure structures in these sections are being announced. Moving to the design stage earlier is made possible by the smoothly implemented procedures for the redemption of land plots needed for these infrastructure objects. Contracts with service providers are planned to be signed in early 2024.

“Land plots required for specific infrastructure facilities in the Kaunas node have been redeemed even before the approval of the infrastructure development plan for this section. Land plots are also starting to be bought in Jiesia (Kaunas) – in the stretch of the Lithuanian-Polish border. All this makes it possible to immediately announce the procurement of design works,” said Dovydas Palaima, Head of Management of LTG Infra Rail Baltica.

New and reconstructed infrastructure structures such as automobile and railway viaducts, crossings, ecoducts for animals will ensure traffic safety and greater traffic capacity both in Kaunas and in the section from Kaunas to Poland even before the completion of the construction of the main Rail Baltica railway line.”

The services of preparation of technical work projects and implementation of projects for planned construction and reconstruction of automobile roads and railway viaducts, railway crossings, passages for animals are procured.

The designers who win the tenders will have to carry out engineering research, prepare design proposals and technical working projects for construction and reconstruction works. During the construction and reconstruction works, the designers will be responsible for the project execution services. It is planned that the technical work projects of all infrastructure objects will be prepared at the beginning of 2025.

Infrastructure structures will be reconstructed at the Kaunas railway node, while new ones will be built on the section from Kaunas towards Poland. In total, 2 railway crossings, 13 automobile and 2 railway viaducts are planned to be built and reconstructed in these sections of Rail Baltica before the construction works of the main railway line and its structures. Migration routes for local animals will also be ensured – it is planned to install 5 ecoducts for safe migration of animals.

The exact number of buildings planned to be built will become clear after the completion of the land redemption and design activities. Design work should start already at the beginning of 2024.

Procurement of design services is carried out through the Central Procurement Organisation (CPO). In total, almost 170 plots were identified for the so-called point-type objects – viaducts, crossings, ecoducts.

At the moment, in the most mature section from Kaunas to the border of Lithuania and Latvia, the railway bedroad and engineering structures, are being built in a section of almost 30 kilometres from Kaunas towards the Latvian border, the construction of the longest railway bridge in the Baltic States over the Neris River is intensifying.

In other sections of the project, Kaunas-Vilnius and Kaunas-Lithuanian-Polish border, special plans are currently being finalised, design works are being procured. After the approval of the special plans (planned for the first half of 2024), land acquisition and design activities will be carried out simultaneously.

Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, during the implementation of which an electrified European-standard two-track railway will be built, connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pern and Tallinn. The total length of Rail Baltica railway line in the Baltic countries reaches 870 km: in Lithuania – 392 km, in Latvia – 265 km, in Estonia – 213 km.