Rail Baltica signs EUR 1.77 billion electrification contract with Spanish consortium
Rail Baltica has signed a EUR 1.77 billion contract with Spanish consortium COBELEC Rail Baltica, marking Europe's largest railway electrification project. The agreement with Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios and Elecnor covers 870 km of mainline across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with the first phase worth EUR 949 million to be completed by 2030.
The project introduces a 2×25 kV system with 10 traction substations across the three Baltic states and represents the first large-scale use of Static Frequency Converter (SFC) technology in European rail infrastructure. The tender, launched in May 2022, attracted four consortia before COBELEC was selected following technical and financial evaluation.
EU covers 85% of Europe's largest electrification
The European Union will co-finance up to 85% of eligible costs via the Connecting Europe Facility, with national budgets covering the remainder. RB Rail AS, the joint venture managing Rail Baltica, manages the contract, while national implementing bodies in each state oversee local delivery.
The electrification covers 2,403 km of track along the 870 km route, making it Europe's largest rail electrification project. Construction is already active on 43% of the route, including ongoing works in Estonia and Lithuania.
First European-gauge Baltic connection
Electrification will enable passenger services at speeds up to 240 km/h and create the first European-gauge (1435 mm) connection between the Baltic states and Poland, replacing the Soviet-era broad-gauge system.
The first phase of Rail Baltica is now estimated at EUR 15.3 billion, up from EUR 5.8 billion in 2017. A second electrification phase extending to 2040 will depend on future EU funding and technical progress, with total project costs potentially reaching EUR 23.8 billion.