New Lithuanian Government Opposed to Rail Baltic, Says Daily
The new Lithuanian government, elected at the end of last year, would rather invest in an east-west rail link than in the south-north Rail Baltic project, Postimees said today.
The daily said that the previous government backed the project, but the current Cabinet is more in tune with the business needs of Lithuanian Railway, which is banking on trade traveling on the east-west route and views Rail Baltic as a rival.
Estonia and Latvia have agreed on the next steps to move Rail Baltic forward while Lithuania has issued additional requirements for the project such as connecting Vilnius with the line, or hampered progress in setting up a joint company to oversee the project.
Delegates from the three nations are currently in Kaunas discussing the project.
EU funding could be lost if construction of the high-speed rail line does not begin by 2016, but the process must pass through a number of stages before actual construction may begin.