Estonia, Latvia Find Common Ground on Rail Baltic Plan

[Baluarte]

The two northernmost Baltic states have come to an agreement over the creation of a joint company to oversee the Rail Baltic project, and it is hoped Lithuania will join by the end of July.

The agreement came at the Baltic Development Forum held in Riga and Jurmala last week.

Estonian PM Andrus Ansip said that goods sold in Estonia are more expensive than those sold in Berlin due partly to bad railway connections, and the same applies to Estonian goods sold in Western Europe, ETV reported on Thursday.
Under the deal, the three countries will set up a joint venture by the end of July, which will cost 5.3 million euros from each party.

Baltic Course reported today that Lithuania is a willing partner, having already invested over 100 million euros in an EU standard rail line from Kaunas to the Polish border.

Poland and Finland have expressed a wish to take part in the Rail Baltic project, but according to Ansip, they will not joint the company.

The estimated cost of the entire project is 3.86 billion euros, most of which would be funded by the European Union, said the Baltic Course.

[glass]

(baltic) sea is always cheaper than railways. But upgrading thier seaports will require less EU money, and so less free foreign money to boost thier pathetic economies...

[Pure ja]

(baltic) sea is always cheaper than railways. But upgrading thier seaports will require less EU money, and so less free foreign money to boost thier pathetic economies...

So I guess it would be wise to advise Russia to demolish all Russian railways, because, you know, sea is always cheaper than railways.
It could even boost Russia's pathetic economy.

[RussiaPrussia]

So I guess it would be wise to advise Russia to demolish all Russian railways, because, you know, sea is always cheaper than railways.
It could even boost Russia's pathetic economy.

he said baltic sea

[Albion]

I'm not sure if it is wise. In the UK we had great overcapacity from the 19th century which led to some lines being abolished. The railways carry freight, but not nearly as much as the motorways. In the future this rail project may become important if fuel become prohibitively expensive, but it's not likely.
It sounds a bit like a red herring, it's a rail project in a group of small countries to connect them to where exactly? The region is more sparsely populated than most of Western Europe and road links are decent. I don't think it's needed.

[riverman]

I'm not sure if it is wise. In the UK we had great overcapacity from the 19th century which led to some lines being abolished. The railways carry freight, but not nearly as much as the motorways. In the future this rail project may become important if fuel become prohibitively expensive, but it's not likely.
It sounds a bit like a red herring, it's a rail project in a group of small countries to connect them to where exactly? The region is more sparsely populated than most of Western Europe and road links are decent. I don't think it's needed.

We have the same rail problems here, a lot of bad decicions imo. Although here its the opposite, better rail is good because of distance

[Baluarte]

I'm not sure if it is wise. In the UK we had great overcapacity from the 19th century which led to some lines being abolished. The railways carry freight, but not nearly as much as the motorways. In the future this rail project may become important if fuel become prohibitively expensive, but it's not likely.
It sounds a bit like a red herring, it's a rail project in a group of small countries to connect them to where exactly? The region is more sparsely populated than most of Western Europe and road links are decent. I don't think it's needed.

I crossed around 70% of Estonia's eastwards, from Tallinn till the Russian border. Traffic is hardly a problem, very few cars in the motorways.
I can't judge for those heading south to Tartu and Latvia, but unless the pattern is radically different and roads are stuck, then I agree entirely with you.
I can't comment on the

[Albion]

We have the same rail problems here, a lot of bad decicions imo. Although here its the opposite, better rail is good because of distance

The shape of Great Britain and the geography of its towns means we only really need two major lines - one on the east coast, the other on the west. So many lines were built that some never saw any profit and were just ill thought out and loss making. Others just lost their purpose over time. A lot of long distance walking trails are along former railway lines now.



Some have proposed a Trans-Eurasia railway, from China's East coast to Western Europe, but such basically exists anyway with Chinese lines connecting to Russia's Trans-Siberian. A high speed rail line is proposed, but I think with the volume of trade it would soon be out of capacity, even if many lines were laid in parallel (like lanes on a motorway). Organizing it would be a nightmare. Only with a Trans Eurasia railway would a link to the Baltic and Western Europe be any use, and only really as a stop on the way, not really as a destination.


Existing lines.



Really, I think Europe should focus on short haul flights and good regional connections and the roads. The Baltic states certainly don't need a railway.

The project - Rail Baltica is supposed to provide better links to Northern Europe. In reality it's purely political. It mostly would follow existing lines, but importantly it would bypass Kaliningrad (Russia) and Belarus by creating a new line out of SW Lithuania into Poland - so EU countries only.
The line gauge would also be changed to standard gauge across the whole route so trains wouldn't have to be changed. All in all it is rather a pointless and costly exercise to a region that didn't really require railways in the first place.

[Albion]

I crossed around 70% of Estonia's eastwards, from Tallinn till the Russian border. Traffic is hardly a problem, very few cars in the motorways.
I can't judge for those heading south to Tartu and Latvia, but unless the pattern is radically different and roads are stuck, then I agree entirely with you.
I can't comment on the

I see plenty of lorrys (wagons) from Lithuania here. Most freight in Europe goes via roads and I doubt this will change. Transport by road is competitive - it can go anywhere at any time, it doesn't have to work around rail times nor organize transport to and from the station at either end.
Railways would soon reach capacity and more if modern road freight went via rail. I think in Europe we should concentrate on roads across the continent. Trains are useful in the densely populated West and Central Europe, certainly not the Baltic though

[Aunt Hilda]

I see plenty of lorrys (wagons) from Lithuania here. Most freight in Europe goes via roads and I doubt this will change. Transport by road is competitive - it can go anywhere at any time, it doesn't have to work around rail times nor organize transport to and from the station at either end.
Railways would soon reach capacity and more if modern road freight went via rail. I think in Europe we should concentrate on roads across the continent. Trains are useful in the densely populated West and Central Europe, certainly not the Baltic though

http://news.belta.by/en/news/society?id=715950