Rail Baltica has been Europe’s flagship cross-border rail project, but exploding construction costs have led to a re-evaluation of its ambitions. It is especially Latvia that is struggling to find funding to build the railway. The transport ministry has now come up with a new, less ambitious plan: Rail Baltica is supposed to be single-track only on Latvian territory.
In a new plan for Rail Baltica in Latvia, the country’s transport ministry proposes to make its part of Rail Baltica single-track only. It is also putting forward ways to connect its capital city Riga to the line, including via a broad gauge line between the centre and the airport, which is supposed to link up to Rail Baltica.
The proposed downscaling of the project is a result of a deteriorating financial outlook. Rail Baltica’s projected construction costs have risen considerably in recent years. Whereas the project was initially estimated at 5,7 billion euros in 2017, by summer 2023 this number had grown to 25 billion euros.
The growing expenses have forced the Baltic countries to adjust their ambitions, especially in light of the EU’s 2030 deadline for the completion of the mainline. Otherwise, the project may lose out on much-needed EU funding.