The implementer of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia – the company Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas – and the main line contractor ERB Rail have signed an official act to launch large-scale construction works on the Rail Baltica main railway line.
Construction on the Rail Baltica main line in Latvia is beginning in the southern section from Misa to the Lithuanian border, which is divided into segments covered by a total of 11 building permits. Today, documents were signed for starting construction under the first four permits. These include activities such as unexploded ordnance inspections, construction of the railway embankment, access and temporary road building, as well as construction of a new railway overpass and a bridge over the Iecava River. Work is also ongoing to optimize the project’s costs.
Jānis Naglis, board member of Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas, stated:
“By signing this document, we are concluding extensive and time-consuming preparatory work that has ‘prepared the ground’ so we can now ‘put a shovel in the ground’ and begin large-scale construction of the Rail Baltica main line. We are moving forward decisively with concrete and practical steps in this project’s implementation: the necessary real estate for the southern section is secured, and funding is available for the first 45 kilometers of the route. The recently allocated €153.3 million from the European Commission for the Rail Baltica project in Latvia will allow further progress on main line construction.”
So far, all preparatory work has been completed on a 16-hectare site at the Iecava infrastructure maintenance point – a strategic location and one of the key hubs of the project. Construction of the embankment for the maintenance site is underway, located directly adjacent to the deforested area for the Rail Baltica main line. In addition, access roads have been built, a temporary office for ERB Rail (the main line contractor) has been set up, and deliveries of construction materials are ongoing.
