Top transport officials in the Baltics have signed a major agreement over the future of a rail project connecting five countries.

The €3.6 billion Rail Baltica project plans to create a rail line from Tallinn to Berlin in an effort to create faster connection times and boost local economies.

It's estimated work on the project could be completed in a decade whilst construction work has already begun on some lines.

Passengers could travel from Tallinn to the Lithuanian, Polish border in four hours with scheduled stops every two hours as part of the project.Tallinn to Riga will be cut to two hours under new plans. The total length of "Rail Baltica II" is planned to be 728 kilometers.

Following talks in Riga, transport officials put pen to paper and signed final agreements earlier this week. The officials agreed that the RB Rail firm would implement the plans for the construction of the railway line in the Baltics.

"Set up of joint Baltic countries company for Rail Baltica means closer co-operation and deeper EU integration," Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on Twitter.

A map shows the Rail Baltica route (photo: mwmbwls/ Flickr)