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

The agreement will be sign by the transport ministers of the three countries.

''With much satisfaction, I can announce that the Rail Baltica joint-venture agreement will be signed in Riga in mid-October. The agreement will allow us to move forward with the project, which will become an important public rail transportation project. The project will also be an integral part of the Northern-Baltic transportation corridor, connecting Finland with Germany. The Rail Baltica project will also integrate the Baltic rail system with the European Union rail network, and will help facilitate the economic development of the region,'' Transport Minister Anrijs Matiss (Unity) said on October 3rd.

As reported, the Rail Baltica project deals with construction of a new 1435 millimeter standard-gauge railroad in the Baltic countries. The implementation of project could cost EUR 1.27 billion to Latvia and EUR 3.68 billion to the Baltic States altogether.

The European Commission could co-fund 85 percent of the project's costs. The request for funding will be submitted to the European Commission in 2015, so construction of the railroad could begin in 2016. Further funding for the project is to be provided as part of the next financial period that will begin in 2020.

The new railway line should connect Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Warsaw with the extension to Berlin.