Currently, apart from the 1435 mm Kaunas-Poland border line, the 1435 mm infrastructure is the missing link for the full integration of the Baltic States into the European Union (EU) rail transport market.
Standard gauge railways allow military equipment and troops to be transported across borders without changing the gauge, which is time-consuming and logistically challenging. Standardisation of rail infrastructure will increase the EU’s ability to respond to security threats and strengthen vulnerable regions.
Calculated benefits
Military mobility – the rapid and efficient movement of troops and equipment from one region to another – is an important aspect of defence strategy and operational readiness, especially in the context of international alliances. This includes transport infrastructure (railways, roads, ports or airfields), regulatory systems and coordination mechanisms that allow rapid deployment of forces.
Military mobility is particularly important in times of crisis or in response to potential threats. Rail Baltica will ensure a standardised, high-capacity route for military transport. The high-speed rail infrastructure will accommodate heavy military equipment such as tanks and armoured vehicles, which are difficult to transport by road.
According to Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO at LTG Group, the latest cost-benefit analysis of Rail Baltica assesses the benefits of the project in the current geopolitical context.
„The estimates reveal that Rail Baltica will be able to replace a 7 km-long military convoy with a single 40-wagon train in peacetime. In the event of armed conflicts, up to 143,000 people could be evacuated from the Baltic capitals to Poland in one day. In the expanded Trans-European Transport Network, Rail Baltica will become an important step towards a standardised railway infrastructure across Europe,“ said Egidijus Lazauskas.
Developing services for NATO allies
The 1435 mm Rail Baltica line will be added to the 1520 mm services the development of which started in Lithuania before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022. Special processes, tools and positions have been created for NATO allies to coordinate the movement of military trains in the Baltic States.
Rolling stock and infrastructure have been developed and modified to enable faster and more convenient securing and transport of NATO cargo by rail. They are serviced by mobile crews that can work not only at railway stations but also securing cargo at other facilities such as military ships, ports or military areas.
In Kaunas (Palemonas), a dual-purpose 1520 mm and 1435 mm track loading infrastructure is being designed and implemented to accommodate significant NATO military cargo flows arriving on the European rail, transhipping onto the broad-gauge for transport to Latvia and Estonia. It will be the largest dual-purpose terminal in the Baltic States.
The development of infrastructure in Palemonas will also facilitate access to the Rūdininkai training ground, where a German brigade is planned to be deployed.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic States, during the implementation of which an electrified European-standard two-track railway will be built, connecting Warsaw, Kaunas, Vilnius, Panevėžys, Riga, Parnu and Tallinn. The total length of the Rail Baltic railway line in the Baltic States is 870 km: 392 km in Lithuania, 265 km in Latvia, and 213 km in Estonia.