Three parties - the Lithuanian branch of the joint venture of three Baltic states RB RAIL AS, the Ministry of the Transportation and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania and the winning company Ardanuy Ingenieria S.A. - have signed a contract to produce an upgrade feasibility study for a section of the route linking Poland and Lithuania.
Ardanuy won out from seven companies participating in the tender. The upgrade feasibility study will be completed in December 2017.
Lithuania has completed a new European standard gauge (1435mm) section between “Polish/Lithuanian state border–Kaunas” in 2015 and continues development and construction of Kaunas node sections (Jiesia-Rokai, Rokai-Palemonas, and Palemonas-Kaunas).
According to a statement from RB Rail, the technical parameters of this section of track differ from the ones set for the Rail Baltica Global project (fast conventional double track electrified, ERTMS equipped railway line with a design speed of 240 km/h), for example, current maximum design speed for the passenger travel is 120 km/h versus 240 km/h, single-track versus double-track, one-level crossings versus two-level crossings.
"The purpose of this study is to analyze the feasibility of, and measures required to, upgrade the existing 1435 mm gauge railway line from the “Polish/Lithuanian state border–Kaunas–RRT Palemonas” to achieve full compliance with the Rail Baltica Global project," RB Rail said.
You can see other tenders being run by RB Rail HERE.
As previously reported by LSM, Rail Baltica is a 6-billion-euro project to construct a high speed rail link through the Baltic states and ultimately it is hoped on to Poland and Germany with a link in the north to Finland too.
