Rail Baltica rail costs in Estonia far lower per kilometer than in Latvia
Rail Baltica construction is significantly cheaper in Estonia, where a full kilometer of the railway will cost about the same as the substructure alone in Latvia.
Latvian Transport Minister Atis Švinka said this week that building the 45-kilometer stretch from Misa to the Lithuanian border will cost over €520 million, or about €11.57 million per kilometer.
That figure does not include electrification, signaling, materials or project supervision costs, he added.
In Estonia, Rail Baltic Estonia (RBE) said the substructure alone costs roughly €7–8 million per kilometer.
Together with all the additional necessary work, including electrification and control systems, for which contracts have yet to be signed, the total comes to an estimated €11–12 million per kilometer, RBE spokesperson Silvia Pärmann said.
By the end of last year, construction had begun already in every county along the planned route through Estonia. Earthworks, traffic junctions, overpasses and bridges are all underway, keeping the project on track to launch rail service between Tallinn and Warsaw by 2030.
Latvia, in contrast, is facing funding shortfalls. Its Transport Ministry report estimates the existing budget can only cover 52.7 kilometers of the main embankment, enough for the southern section from near Riga to the Lithuanian border.
Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said earlier this month that Tallinn is pressing Riga to complete its section of the international railway on schedule.
There are no alternatives, he stressed, adding that "this has to be done."
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla
