Feasibility study of express railway line construction in Lithuania

Abstract

When Lithuania became a member-state of the European Union, the problems of railway development and their integration into the European railway network came to the forefront. According to the high-speed railway development plan EURAILSPEED 95, adopted at the VIC II congress in France in 1995, two European express railway lines should be constructed in Lithuania. The first line should link Warsaw – Kaunas – Riga – Tallinn/Helsinki (transport corridor Crete I), while the second should go through Klaipėda – Kaunas – Odessa (transport corridor Crete IX). The priority is given to the first new express railway line Warsaw – Helsinki called RAIL BALTICA, crossing four states – Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This line is aimed for both passenger and freight transportation. The maximum traffic speed can reach 250 km/h for passenger trains and 140 km/h for goods trains. The project RAIL BALTICA is specified as the priority project of infrastructure development by the European Commission. This line should be constructed in three stages. At the first stage, including the period until 2010, the railway line in Poland leading from Warsaw to the frontier with Lithuania (Šeštokai station) should be upgraded and an express railway should be constructed to link it with Kaunas. At the second stage (up to 2014), an express railway from Lithuania to Riga should be constructed, while at the third stage (up to 2016) such a railway should be constructed on the route to Tallinn. Keywords: express railway, freight and passenger transportation, network, transportation market, route, terminal, car.