In the Rail Baltica system, Riga Central Station will initially be connected via Riga Airport, Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (Progressives) said after yesterday’s coalition meeting.
The proposed solution envisages a through route of the main line through Riga, and by 2030 it will be possible to open a southern connection to the airport and further to Riga Central Station, Briskens explained in response to a question on the further development of Rail Baltica.
“It is very important to remove speculations that Riga might not be fully connected,” the Transport Minister stressed. The connection from Riga station to Upeslejas and the northern main line will be implemented a few years after 2030, Briskens explained.
Negotiations on the share of European Union (EU) funding for Rail Baltica after 2028 will only start at EU level in 2025, the politician noted.
For the period 2025-2027, possibilities for reallocation from existing programs, including those of the Ministry of Transport (MoT), are being assessed, Briskens noted. Additional funding opportunities for public-private partnerships and military mobility are also being assessed.
Latvia is also applying for EUR 400-500 million in the existing EU instrument for 2025-2027, the Transport Minister said.
Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said that the coalition partners would first take a detailed look at the information report prepared by the MoT and then it would be discussed at a forthcoming coalition meeting.
As reported, even in the best-case scenario, the European standard-gauge railroad Rail Baltica section through Riga will not be built by 2030, Latvian Television reported.
The Transport Ministry has submitted a report to the government on what the Rail Baltica project should look like in six years’ time and where financing for the project will come from.
In the report, the Transport Ministry proposes an option in which the Rail Baltica route connect Riga Central Station and Riga Airport in the first stage of the project, but the Rail Baltica route would not go through the whole city.
Latvian Television has learned that, according to the Transport Ministry’s scenario, trains traveling on the Rail Baltica railway from Estonia would cross the Daugava near Salaspils, then turn to Riga Airport at the Misa River and arrive at Riga Central Station, and then travel back along this same route and continue on to Lithuania.
Source: BNS
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