EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Railways, Transport

RB Latvija spatial planning expert Neils Balgalis told LETA that finding optimum solutions required balancing out the interests of local governments and residents, history of the given areas, environmental factors. For those areas where Rail Baltica has stirred the most controversy, three alternative railroad routes have been prepared.

One alternative route will now be offered to Marupe Region, taking into consideration local residents and municipality's opinions. RB Latvija representatives could have an extra meeting with Marupe residents later this month to discuss the alternative.

The other two alternative routes have been offered to Salacgriva Region, and they will also be discussed with the region's residents.

Following meetings with residents in fifteen municipalities earlier this summer, RB Latvija received more than 500 proposals. Various solutions were considered for Bauska, Baldone, Kekava, Marupe, Incukalns, Seja, Limbazi, Salacgriva regions and Riga. In the more densely-populated areas, finding a common denominator was harder as it is impossible to take into consideration all residents' interest.

One of the most complicated tasks is Seja, where Inki homestead and ancient cemetery have to be preserved, as well as the business of the region's farmers, including "Ramkalni". The railroad also has to be as far as possible from the acid waste ponds in Incukalns so as to avoid environmental risks. In Baldone, the main task is to preserve the Misa and Sarma cooperative societies, which requires the railroad to be further away from populated areas, whereas in Bauska, the railroad and the local road have to be combined into a single transport corridor. Seeking solutions for these problems is now in the final stages, and the solutions will be presented to the public in October, said Balgalis.

Assessment of the project's impact on the environment will also be released in October.

The Rail Baltica standard-gauge railroad in Latvia will be 265 kilometers long, going through Salacgriva, Limbazi, Seja, Incukalns, Ropazi, Garkalne, Stopini, Salaspils, Kekava, Baldone, Iecava, Olaine, Marupe, Bauska regions and Riga.

The alternative routes have been posted here.

As reported, Brussels has allocated EUR 238 million to Latvia for implementation of the first round of the Rail Baltica project, and the largest part of the amount will go to construction of a railroad connecting the Riga Central Railroad Station and Riga Airport, according to Edvins Berzins, member of the board at Baltic joint venture RB Rail set up to coordinate implementation of the Rail Baltica project. By 2020, the Baltic States will receive a total of EUR 442.2 million (co-funding of 81.82%) for this project.