OREANDA-NEWS. August 16, 2011. SORAINEN together with the local subsidiary of AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support services, drafted a feasibility study for the strategic pan-Baltic transport project Rail Baltica, reported the press-centre of SORAINEN.

The aim of the project is to establish a railway link between Finland, the Baltic States and Poland and to integrate the link with the rest of the European railway network. Rail Baltica is one of the largest ever infrastructure investment projects in the Baltics and is listed as a priority project of the European Union (EU) Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).

Rail Baltica would create the possibility to shift the bulk of freight transport in the region from road to rail. Transporting freight by rail would increase the safety of local roads and reduce CO2 emissions and oil consumption. Additionally, it would create a quick and convenient passenger connection, which at the moment is non-existent.

The main objective of the feasibility study was to identify the optimal development choice for a railway line covering all three Baltic States within an EU-wide rail network rationale. An additional goal was to give the authorities of the three Baltic States and the EU a complete and substantiated picture of whether the project seems viable enough to justify more detailed analysis on the respective national levels. The feasibility study included a spectrum of planning activities ranging from analysis of demand for transportation services and expected demand trends through to assessment of project viability and of potential implementation scenarios.

The feasibility study concluded that with adequate freight and passenger transport volumes along with funding from the EU the new railway link through all Baltic States would be profitable. The cost of building the full planned infrastructure at current prices would be EUR 3.7 billion. The envisaged length of the railway is 728 km and completion is estimated to be by 2025.

SORAINEN Estonia partner Kaupo Lepasepp was a member of a consultants group conducting the Rail Baltica feasibility study. Moreover, SORAINEN in all three countries was appointed as legal counsel for the study and dealt with complex infrastructure, railway, transportation and regulatory legal issues addressed by the study. The pan-Baltic SORAINEN team led by Kaupo Lepasepp also included partners Agris Repss, Kestutis Adamonis and Rudolfs Engelis, specialist counsel Paulius Koverovas, senior associates Laura Cereskaite-Kinciuviene and Raivo Raudzeps, and associate Mihkel Miidla.