Rail Baltica Launches First Network Statement for 870 km

VILNIUS, LITHUANIA – RB Rail AS and the three Baltic national infrastructure companies issued the first edition of the Rail Baltica Network Statement in mid-2025, giving prospective passenger and freight operators a single, harmonised reference for the 870‑km electrified standard‑gauge line designed for speeds of up to 249 km/h. The document consolidates infrastructure characteristics, access conditions and core operational parameters into one publication that is aligned with the RailNetEurope common structure. It does not yet contain final capacity‑allocation rules, pricing models or service details, but it opens a formal dialogue with carriers and forwarders ahead of the corridor’s entry into service.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The Rail Baltica project will build an 870‑km double‑track, fully electrified railway to the European standard gauge of 1,435 mm, equipped with ERTMS Level 2 and the future FRMCS communications system. The line will serve Tallinn, Pärnu, Riga, Panevėžys, Kaunas, Vilnius and the Lithuania–Poland border junction, placing all three Baltic states within the TEN‑T North Sea–Baltic and Baltic Sea–Black Sea–Aegean Sea corridors. The first Network Statement provides a unified technical baseline that infrastructure managers Rail Baltic Estonia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas (EDzL) and LTG Infra, together with coordinator RB Rail AS, will update periodically as commercial readiness advances. Future editions will introduce detailed capacity‑allocation procedures, pricing principles, service offerings and operational procedures in compliance with European Directive 2012/34/EU. A separate statement for the Polish section will be published by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

At an estimated total cost of €5.8 billion (Source: European Commission, 2023), Rail Baltica’s 870‑km greenfield alignment yields a per‑kilometre cost of roughly €6.7 million, substantially lower than the Lyon–Turin base tunnel (€26 billion for 270 km) because it avoids extensive tunnelling. The project’s cross‑border governance model—three infrastructure managers issuing a single Network Statement—contrasts with the separate bilateral agreements typical of other TEN‑T corridors. Poland’s own high‑speed programme, the CPK hub project, targets similar speeds of up to 250 km/h with ERTMS Level 2, but does not cover multiple sovereign jurisdictions in a single document. The Polish section of Rail Baltica, where PKP PLK will release an independent statement, sits in a market that IndexBox (2025) projects will see sharp growth in Ethernet‑based signalling, PoE‑enabled traffic management and cloud‑integrated control systems, reinforcing the technological profile that the corridor’s ERTMS/FRMCS deployment will require.

The publication also coincides with a broader push for electrified, interoperable corridors highlighted by the 2024‑2025 European railway gauge contract comparison (Ecobiz Asia). In a parallel global trend, Indonesia’s state railway operator KAI has set a target to cut carbon emissions 100 % by 2060 through full electrification (Source: Ecobiz Asia, 2025), mirroring Rail Baltica’s all‑electric design and underscoring the alignment between Baltic infrastructure planning and worldwide decarbonisation objectives.

Capacity‑allocation details, pricing schedules and the final operational timetable remain absent from this initial edition. Comparable early‑stage statements for the Fehmarn Belt link and the Brenner Base Tunnel also withheld such details until construction neared completion, making the lack of disclosure consistent with sector practice.

Editor’s Analysis

The shift from design‑and‑build updates to an operational planning document signals that Rail Baltica is entering pre‑commercial readiness, a phase when freight forwarders and passenger operators make fleet and service decisions. A uniform Network Statement across three countries reduces the regulatory friction that often delays start‑up on multi‑state corridors. If the periodic updates maintain technical clarity and incorporate stakeholder feedback quickly, Rail Baltica could become a benchmark for future TEN‑T cross‑border statements, especially as EU funding conditions increasingly demand standardised access rules. The parallel Polish signalling market expansion (Source: IndexBox, 2025) further supports the technology supply chain that the corridor will need, with manufacturers such as Siemens, Hirschmann and Moxa already active in the region.

FAQ

Q: When will the first trains run on Rail Baltica?
A: No official start‑of‑operations date has been confirmed. The Network Statement will be updated as construction progresses, and a dedicated operational‑phase edition will be published later in accordance with Directive 2012/34/EU.

Q: How will pricing and capacity allocation work on the new line?
A: Future editions of the Network Statement will contain detailed pricing principles, capacity requests, and allocation procedures. The current version is for information only and does not serve as a basis for commercial track access contracts.

Q: Can trains from the existing 1,520 mm gauge network use Rail Baltica?
A: Direct through‑running is not possible. A gauge‑change facility will be built near the Lithuanian‑Polish border, allowing freight wagons to be swapped or bogies exchanged. Passenger transfers will occur at terminals equipped for cross‑platform connections between gauge systems.