Territorial planning in the framework of the implementation of the Rail Baltica project continues — the concrete solutions for the railway infrastructure maintenance depots of Panevėžys and Kaunas are being made public. The special territorial planning document, which will be accessible to all interested parties, provides for the specific sites for the construction of depots and related facilities. The duration of the publicity procedures is two months.
The Rail Baltica project provides for two infrastructure maintenance depots in Lithuania — in Kaunas and Panevėžys. “These facilities will be an integral part of the newly built European railway and will ensure the maintenance of all sections of Rail Baltica. Of course, new jobs will also be created in these regions,” says Loreta Maskaliovienė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications.
According to Dovydas Palaima, General Manager at LTG Infra Rail Baltica Management, the construction of these new infrastructure maintenance depots and the operation of the high-speed railway will enable the socio-economic environment to develop, creating added value not only for the country but also for the regions.
The infrastructure maintenance depot of Kaunas will be built north of Neveronys. The solutions include a depot and a preliminary layout of the railway tracks, as well as a motor road to the depot site and a two-level intersection across the Palemonas–Gaižiūnai railway section. A total of 25.5 ha of land is foreseen for the implementation of the Kaunas depot solution.
The infrastructure maintenance depot of Panevėžys will be built near Gustoniai. The special plan provides for a depot and a preliminary layout of the railway tracks, a freight station, a loading and/or military equipment site, a freight terminal, a regional passenger train park, car access, and maintenance roads, and envisages the reconstruction of the Gustoniai crossing into a two-level intersection. The plan also provides for an area for the construction of the Panevėžys passenger station in the territory of the Panevėžys District Municipality, however, the location of the international passenger station of Panevėžys of the Rail Baltica project will be finally revealed after the preparation of the special plan of the Panevėžys node. A land area of 93.9 ha is foreseen for the implementation of the Panevėžys depot solution.
The owners and users of the parcels of land, where the infrastructure maintenance depots and the related facilities are planned to be built, and the owners and users of the neighboring parcels of land will be informed about the prepared concrete solutions through the E-delivery system, and they will also be given notices by registered mail.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, which will build a fully electrified double-track European gauge railway connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Pärnu and Tallinn. The total length of Rail Baltica in the Baltic States is 870 km, with 392 km in Lithuania, 265 km in Latvia and 213 km in Estonia.
Relevant References and Information to the Public
From 12 December 2022 to 12 February 2023, the prepared draft document of the special territorial planning can be accessed (in Lithuanian):
- the website of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania at https://sumin.lrv.lt/lt/veiklos-sritys/kita-veikla/projekto-rail-baltica-gelezinkeliu-infrastrukturos-prieziuros-depu-susisiekimo-komunikaciju-inzinerines-infrastrukturos-vystymo-planas;
- the Territorial Planning Documents Preparation and Territorial Planning Process State Supervision Information System (TPDRIS) (http://www.tpdris.lt, TPD No. S-NC-00-19-12).
The concrete solutions of the plan are also available in Web GIS online space https://byt.lt/Ji0W6
The public display of solutions to the special territorial planning document from 9 January to 12 February 2023 will take place in the premises of the municipal administrations of Jonava District Municipality, Kaunas District Municipality, and Panevėžys District Municipality.
The final meeting-conference, during which the solutions of the special territorial planning document will be made public, will take place on 13 February 2023 at 5 p.m. in the Great Hall of Kaunas City Municipality (Laisvės al. 96, Kaunas). The public deliberation will be broadcast live online via the ZOOM platform. Broadcast link: https://byt.lt/S5OaT