Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevicius has reaffirmed that an EU-backed railway line that links Poland with the Baltic states will go ahead.

Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevicius and Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk at the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka

Butkevicius told Lithuania's state news agency LETA on Thursday that although the matter was not discussed during the 4th EU-Africa Summit in Brussels on Wednesday, he had received earlier confirmation that Poland would forge ahead with its part of the project.

The entire Rail Baltica line is supposed to pass through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, covering 950 km between Warsaw and Tallinn.

As former parts of the Soviet Union, the three Baltic states still have railway tracks that are incompatible with the European 'Standard Gauge', and the new line would be built according to the latter specifications.

Although Poland already uses Standard Gauge, it would still need to upgrade its railway line from Warsaw to Trakiszki on the Lithuanian border so that trains can travel at high speed.

According to Butkevicius, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has 'promised' to carry out the upgrade, and the entire Rail Baltica line is due to be completed by 2024.

Construction costs will be covered by the EU's Structural and Cohesion Funds, as well as the budgets of the countries involved. (nh)



