RB Rail, the organisation overseeing the project, has selected IDOM to provide design and supervision services for the 71 km- Pärnu-Rapla and the 78 km-long Kaunas-Ramygala sections.

The contracts, the former valued at €6.8m and the latter at €6.9m (both excl. VAT), cover master and detailed technical design of the sub- and superstructure (incl. related civil works), which is to be completed within 24 months, as well as site investigations, value engineering, and design supervision during the construction period.

RB Rail received four tender bids, out of which the one submitted by IDOM was the most economically advantageous.

In total, there'll be seven design contracts for the Rail Baltica project.

Rail Baltica is an EU-backed project between Estonia (213 km), Latvia (265 km), and Lithuania (391 km) aimed at constructing an 870 km-long standard-gauge, double-track, 2x25kV AC traction system, Level 2 European Rail Traffic Management System line.

Under common design guidelines approved in 2018, the line will have a maximum operating speed of 249 km/hr and 120 km/hr for passenger and cargo trains, respectively. Freight trains will have an axle load of 25t and a maximum length of 1,050 m.

Photo: RB Rail