Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas has unveiled the five selected companies and associations for the construction of Rail Baltica mainline in Latvia, following the first round of the tender. The companies which formed joint ventures are coming from Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Poland, China and Latvia.

The selected companies to participate in the second round of the competition are:

• WebuildNGE-TSOJV, a group of Italian and French companies Webuild, NGE Contracting SASU and TSO;
• OHLA – Gulemark Rail Baltica Joint Venture, formed by Obrascón Huarte Lain, Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt and Gülermak (Spain, Turkey, Poland);
• R.B. Rail BalticaJV, formed by Eiffage Génie Civil, Budimex and Rizzani de Eccher (France, Poland, Italy);
• Aldesa Construcciones, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, Limited Liability Company TEK Baltic(Spain, China, Latvia);
• The Turkish companies Ic Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret and Doğuş İnşaat ve Ticaret

“Engaging international and experienced association of contractors in the construction of high-speed railway infrastructure will also significantly contribute to strengthening of knowledge and competences in the Latvian construction sector. The planned construction works are combining many elements, such as railway baselines, bridges, roads and overpasses, infrastructure maintenance points, regional stations – a complicated field of work to build a complete new railway line within the shortest possible time,” Kaspars Vingris, Chairman of the Board of Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas, said.

Currently, documentation preparation works for the second round of the procurement, in which applicants will submit financial and technical offers, is underway. Following the completion of the tender it is planned that the construction works outside Riga will start in 2023. Priority construction works will be carried out in the direction from Riga Airport to the Latvian / Lithuanian border and the Salaspils Intermodal Freight Terminal.

The first construction works are planned in Bauska Municipality near Iecava, where the future Rail Baltica infrastructure maintenance facility will be located. During the construction of Rail Baltica, this maintenance facility will be used as a construction logistics base, providing storage for construction materials, equipment, and construction machinery, as well as enable performance of the necessary preparation and processing work. Railway will be used to transport the construction materials by constructing a connection with the existing 1520 mm gauge network. With the construction logistics base in place, the next works are likely to start with the objects of the highest level of engineering and technical complexity such as the bridges over the Iecava and Mēmele rivers.

The Rail Baltica mainline in Latvia has a length of 260 km towards the border with Lithuania and will be served by 15 stations, 14 designed for regional traffic and one to accommodate international traffic.