Rail Baltica: special plan for section Kaunas–Vilnius under revision

After all the corrections to the draft of the special territorial planning document have been made, it will be presented to the public again, provisionally — in March of this year. The date of delivery of the revised plan and other deadlines will be notified separately by registered mail to landowners and other users and their neighbours.

“Such a high involvement of municipalities, business representatives and residents in planning one of the most strategically important, but at the same time one of the most complex sections of the new railway is exceptional. We are mobilising experts to ensure that each proposal is assessed responsibly and if it is reasoned, the solutions of the special plan will be adjusted accordingly, as far as the parameters of this project allow it,” says Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Loreta Maskaliovienė.

The specific solutions of the special plan were first published in November 2022 and were accessible for two months. During publication, additional meetings were held with municipalities, communities and landowners who will be directly affected by the new railway. All interested parties had the opportunity to get acquainted with the specific solutions of the special plan for the section Kaunas–Vilnius within these two months and to submit reasoned proposals.

According to Dovydas Palaima, General Manager at LTG Infra Rail Baltica Management, the company responsible for the implementation of the project in Lithuania, the aim is to assess each proposal as expeditiously and thoroughly as possible: “The proposals are currently being assessed. As soon as this phase is completed, each person who submitted the proposal will receive a written answer. Any changes in the special plan will be notified separately to the persons directly affected by the new railway.”

The optimal alternative to the Kaunas–Vilnius railway track was approved at the end of 2021, when following active discussions with representatives of municipalities and communities and taking into account the compulsory technical standards for the European gauge high-speed track, it was decided that the so-called northern S5 alternative was most suited to the needs of all interested parties. This European track will connect the cities of Lentvaris, Vievis and Kaišiadorys.

The companies in charge of preparing the engineering infrastructure development plan of the Rail Baltica line Kaunas–Vilnius are Sweco Lietuva (responsible partner) and DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH.

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.