THE Rail Baltica project to construct a new 250km/h standard-gauge line to connect the three Baltic states with Poland has reached another milestone, with Lithuania’s infrastructure manager LTG Infra signing two major construction contracts and the European Union (EU) confirming a further €295.5m in funding to support the project.

LTG Infra is responsible for delivering the Rail Baltica project in Lithuania and has finalised agreements worth a combined €375.8m to extend the country’s active construction zones to 114km. The contracts were awarded to Kauno Tiltai and Hisk.

Kauno Tiltai will construct 24.4km of railway embankment and associated engineering structures between Ramygala and Berčiūnai, including eight bridges, three viaducts, two animal crossings, and a green bridge. The €248.9 million contract also includes reconstruction of four public roads.

Hisk will deliver 12.3km of embankment and engineering works between Berčiūnai and Joniškėlis, valued at €126.9m. It includes the construction of three viaducts, one bridge, 19 culverts and animal crossings, and more than 1km of noise barriers. This is the third contract that Hisk has been awarded for work on the Rail Baltica line in Lithuania.

To mark the latest construction progress, a symbolic signpost was installed near Panevėžys by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and LTG Group. Lithuania’s transport minister, Juras Taminskas, described it as a reminder of the project’s strategic significance for regional connectivity and security.

LTG Group CEO, Egidijus Lazauskas, says that contracts worth more than €800m for Rail Baltica have been signed in 2025, reflecting strong momentum and increasing investment in Lithuania’s transport infrastructure. “We will invest twice as much as last year, largely through European funds, with further growth expected as work intensifies between Kaunas and Panevėžys,” he says.

Grant agreement

Across the wider Baltic region, progress was reviewed at a high-level meeting in Vilnius on October 21-22 between the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (Cinea) and project stakeholders.

During the event, Rail Baltica’s central coordinator, RB Rail, signed a new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant agreement providing €295.5m in EU support for the project. Estonia will receive €47.1m of the funding, Latvia €153.5m, and Lithuania €94.9m.

In Lithuania, the funding will advance construction in the Kaunas Urban Node, including overpasses and railway crossings, as well as technical design and land acquisition for the Kaunas - Polish border section.

For detailed data on European rail projects, subscribe to IRJ Pro.