Rail Baltica has reached what it described as a key milestone with the progression of five consortia to the first round of station construction procurement for the Estonian section of the project.

This infrastructure project aims to connect the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the European rail network.

Rail Baltica will offer high-speed rail travel at speeds of up to 249km/h along an 870km route.

The project is funded by the European Union and the Estonian state budget.

The first consortia selected includes Bouygues Travaux Public, Budimex, Ingérop Conseil et Ingénierie, KMG Infra, and WSP Finland.

GRK Eesti AS, GRK Suomi, AS Merko Ehitus Eesti, NGE Contracting, Sweco Finland and Sweco Sverige form the second consortia.

The third consortia consists of Leonhard Weiss, INF Infra, Leonhard Weiss, Ramboll Danmark, and Skepast & Puhkim.

Verston Eesti, GoTrack, Jarelpinge Inseneriburoo, and Reaalprojekt, form the fourth consortia, and Vinci Construction GeoInfrastructure, AS TREV-2 Grupp, Dodin Campenon Bernard, and SYSTRA are part of the fifth consortia.

During the first phase, the consortia were assessed on their technical and financial capabilities, as well as their relevant experience.

The next stages of the procurement process will involve initial proposals, contract negotiations, development workshops, and the submission of final proposals, with the goal of signing two contracts by the first half of 2025.

The alliance procurement’s total value could reach up to €932m ($983.4m), encompassing strategic material procurement options.

The first mainline contract, estimated at €394 ($415.7m), includes the railway superstructure for the Ulemiste–Parnu section and the substructure for the Tootsi–Parnu section.

The second contract, valued at €332m ($350.3m), covers the full design and construction of the Parnu–Ikla section.

In February this year, the Rail Baltica infrastructure project signed two new construction contracts for its mainline in Estonia.

Valued at a combined €107m ($115m), the contracts encompass two adjoining sections of track spanning a total of 16km.