During a meeting of European transport ministers in Brussels, participants agreed that all member states the railway network of which differed from the EU standard, had until 2025-2026 to develop a plan to transition to 1,435 mm. This applies to Latvia as well, as reported by Ministry of Transport.
Latvia and other Baltic States still have railway networks built in accordance with Russian standard of 1,520 mm, whereas the majority of other European countries have railway standard of 1,435 mm. This is also the standard that will be used for the Rail Baltica line.
Considering the ongoing geopolitical situation, for Latvia connection with Central Europe is especially important. According to Latvia’s Minister of Transport Talis Linkaits, in order to improve and geographically expand the railway infrastructure, it is necessary to construct Rail Baltica railway fast lane.
Development of the European transport network provides for including Latvia, together with Lithuania and Estonia, in the new Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Aegean Sea corridor. This will allow Latvian exporters to deliver goods much more conveniently to countries of the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, the ministry adds.
The northern transport connection with Russia and Belarus was erased as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A major aspect and challenge is the limited financial instruments to secure connection of different forms of transport.
According to Linkaits, creation of a sustainable TEN-T network will require enormous investments from member states in the coming years.
“Latvia uses all opportunities offered by different EU funds. At the same time, we can see that available funding is insufficient to achieve ambitious environmental goals and requirements of the transport infrastructure network,” said the minister. (BNN/Business World Magazine)