Lietuviškai
Permits received for construction of Rail Baltica railway track
2012-07-25
Kelprojektas, the largest Lithuanian company operating in the field of transport infrastructure engineering and design of communication services, buildings of public use and engineering networks, has prepared technical projects for the reconstruction of five structures in the Marijampolė-Kazlų Rūda-Kaunas stretch of the Rail Baltica railway. The permits for the construction of Rail Baltica railway track in the Marijampolė-Kazlų Rūda and Kazlų Rūda-Mauručiai stretches in the Municipalities of Marijampolė, Kazlų Rūda and Prienai have been received.
“Designing large-scale objects is a regular task in our field of operation, however, designing of the Rail Baltica railway track is extraordinary in terms of scope and complexity”, said Algimantas Medžiaušis, General Director of Kelprojektas UAB.
In November 2010, acting as a joint venture with the German Company EPG, Kelprojektas signed the contract for preparation of technical project for the Marijampolė-Kazlų Rūda-Kaunas railway stretch. The contract outlined two stages of works to be implemented by Kelprojektas: carrying out researches and measurements, collection of technical data and assessment of the results, and designing works.
The plan for the reconstruction of the Marijampolė-Kazlų Rūda and Kazlų Rūda-Mauručiai stretches of Rail Baltica is to either make a dual gauge track of 1435/1520 mm in width or construct an additional track of 1435 mm in width along the current railway line.
“Technical projects are assessed by numerous Lithuanian governmental authorities. Therefore, they must be in compliance with various special technical requirements including environmental protection, work safety, hygiene, traffic safety and other requirements. Successful implementation of the project of international significance is the highest evaluation of our experience and qualification in the field of railway infrastructure engineering”, said Rimantas Nugaris, Rail Infrastructure Design Director of Kelprojektas UAB.
Lithuania is the only country from the former Soviet block to have European railway track. This project will improve the transit between the European Union and the Baltic States as well as the Baltic and the Nordic Countries.
Rail Baltica is one of the priority railway projects in Europe as it will connect Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Kaunas and Warsaw. The 335-kilometer long Rail Baltica was declared by the Government an economic project of State significance.
A financial grant was allocated to the project for the time period of 2008–2013. On the basis of the agreement signed with the Transport Investment Directorate on July 3, 2009, Lietuvos Geležinkeliai AB (Lithuanian Railways AB) became responsible for the implementation of the Rail Baltica project. The project is funded from the TEN-T and cohesion funds of the European Union and the financial resources of Lithuania.