Rail Baltica is a railway infrastructure megaproject that spans across several countries. The depth of skills and expertise required to successfully execute a greenfield project of this caliber is extensive and would not be possible without our diverse team of professionals.
Welcome back to our series, “Rail Baltica: The People Behind the Vision,” where we introduce you to the members of the Rail Baltica global project team. These individuals are the driving force advancing the Rail Baltica project with their professionalism, dedication, and passion for this project.
Eva-Maria Nool, Technical Interface Expert, RB Rail AS
This week, we are pleased to introduce Eva-Maria Nool, Technical Interface Expert at RB Rail AS. Eva-Maria joined the Rail Baltica project in December 2020, during the COVID lockdown. Her move to Rail Baltica marked a career shift, inspired by her studies in project management and the opportunity to be part of something truly transformative.
In this interview, Eva-Maria shares how she supports the coordination of different teams and systems, helping to ensure all parts of the project come together as one. For her, Rail Baltica represents opportunity, impact, and the chance to play a meaningful part in connecting the Baltics with Europe.
When did you join the Rail Baltica project and what inspired you to become a part of the team?
I joined Rail Baltica in December 2020 during the COVID lockdown. I only went to the office to pick up my laptop, said hello to my manager, then headed home to set up a home office and began onboarding remotely. I had been looking for an opportunity to change my career path. A chance came shortly after I went back to school to obtain a certificate in project management. Needless to say, when I was offered the chance to join Rail Baltica, I took it.
How would you explain to a 5-year-old or a slightly older newcomer in the railway industry what you do in Rail Baltica?
I like the comparison with a puzzle. The project is huge, so we have to divide it into smaller pieces. Each entity does its own part, but has to remember that not everything can be solved with just that piece, it has to later fit with the others around it. This connection point between pieces is called an interface.
In the Rail Baltica project, the main “pieces” are infrastructure, energy, and CCS (Control, Command, and Signalling). Interfaces ensure that, for example, if the mainline is constructed first, the team already knows the technical requirements needed so that energy and CCS can later install their parts without issues. In the System Engineering team, we care for the process. Our goal is to unify how every part is executed and documented, and how changes are agreed upon, aligned, and communicated. As a result, we reduce the risk of having to redo work later. I am not sure if a 5-year-old would follow all this, but it might help older newcomers!
What does the Rail Baltica project mean to you?
It means opportunities. The existing rail network in Estonia has always made sense to me, and people rely on it. The same applies across Europe. I love the idea of contributing my small part to something that will have an enormous effect on the Baltics in the future.
What do you believe is the most challenging aspect of this mega project?
It is the “mega” part. So many involved parties with different interests and priorities, the complexity of contracts, and the alignment of timelines. The last one really dictates the pace – which is definitely not a slow one.
What advice would you give to a newcomer joining the Rail Baltica project team?
Give it time. Depending on the team, it usually takes several months to start understanding what colleagues are talking about, especially with all the abbreviations and long backstories most topics involve.
How do you balance home and work life and what advice would you give to other women?
Work is just work. It does not mean that I am not motivated or not giving my best while working, not at all. It is a mindset that helps to draw a clearer line between what I do and who I am. If the balance is shifting off, then it is something to be discussed with team members or manager openly and with good intentions.