One of the most intriguing places in Riga is the bridge over the Daugava River, or more precisely, the bridge to nowhere, ERR's Latvia correspondent Ragnar Kond reported on Saturday.

"One can only imagine the speed at which trains could travel from there toward Poland. Unfortunately, the money ran out before the bridge could be completed," he said.

The attitude in Latvia seems to be: We do a little here, a little there—as long as there is money. Work has been started along the Daugava, at the airport terminal, and at the central railway station – but nothing is happening in the direction of Estonia.

"The construction of Rail Baltica has become entangled in many side projects, which have significantly increased costs. Over the last two or three years, we have tried to bring all of this into the public eye and reduce obligations," Andris Šuvajevs, chairman of The Progressives faction in the Latvian Saeima, told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

When comparing the discussions taking place in the Latvian Saeima about Rail Baltica with the optimism at Friday's meeting of the Baltic prime ministers, it seems as though they are talking about two different projects.

Harijs Rokpelnis, chairman of the Greens and Farmers Union faction in the Latvian Saeima, said: "The project is so extensive that no one can even now say how much it will cost in total. All the free money that appears in the state budget in the coming years will be directed toward increasing defense spending. Whether there will be additional money left in the budget for Rail Baltica is difficult to say. It is possible that we will have to move forward more slowly. In official documents, the completion date for Rail Baltica is still 2030, but anyone with even a little common sense understands that this is not realistic. And not only because of Latvia's inability."

There has been much talk during Prime Minister Evika Siliņa's term in office about scaling the project down and saving money, but there is still no new action plan.

"The route divides the country into two parts, but does not create a connection with any larger city. The train does not reach the capital, Riga, and no connection to the port is being built either. We also have to build five extremely expensive bridges over the river," said Andris Kulbergs, member of the United List faction in the Latvian Saeima.

The current parliamentary majority supports Rail Baltica – but no money has been allocated.

"At present, two-thirds of deputies in parliament support Rail Baltica, meaning the necessary majority," said Edmunds Jurevics, chairman of the New Unity faction in the Latvian Saeima.

Some MPs, however, recommend putting Rail Baltica on hold altogether.

"Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries should begin talks with the Estonians and Latvians, because it is not possible to build Rail Baltica this way. It is not possible to find €20 billion," said Aleksandrs Kiršteins, independent member of the Latvian Saeima.

The leaders of Rail Baltica, both in the Ministry of Transport and in the company organizing the construction, keep changing.

ERR's Ragnar Kond said at the moment not only Rail Baltica, but state airline airBaltic needs government help. "[They] require from the Latvian state not only more money, but also more wisdom and experience than it has to offer."

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