Rail Baltica’s joint venture RB Rail AS has awarded DB Engineering & Consulting a €38.31 million contract to design and supervise the southernmost part of the Baltic high-speed rail corridor.
This 96-kilometre stretch will connect the Lithuania–Poland border to Kaunas (Jiesia), strengthening the EU’s main high-speed rail route. The deal, won through a public tender, was signed together with LTG Infra (Lithuania’s national project partner) and DB Engineering & Consulting of Germany.
Table of Contents
Key link to Western Europe
Acting Transport Minister Eugenijus Sabutis called this cross-border section Lithuania’s “gateway to the West” and the first likely route for European-standard high-speed trains. LTG Group CEO Egidijus Lazauskas said the Polish border link is a top priority, with early design work already started for important sections. Preparations for construction tenders will follow to speed up the project.
DB’s long role in Rail Baltica
DB Engineering & Consulting, part of Deutsche Bahn, has been involved in Rail Baltica for nearly 10 years. The company has worked on major designs, such as the first dual road–rail bridge over the Daugava River in Riga. Under this new contract, DB will design an electrified double-track railway from the border through Marijampolė to Kaunas. It will connect with the existing Rail Baltica freight line and include modern signalling and traffic control systems for both passenger and military transport.
Marius Narmontas, Lithuania’s Rail Baltica representative, highlighted Poland’s advantage as the only project country with a complete 1435 mm-gauge network, giving a direct link to the rest of Europe. Most of Poland’s sections are already modernised, with the last part of Lithuania now in design, allowing both sides to finish at around the same time.
Lithuania moves fast, and Latvia is behind schedule
This new deal follows Lithuania’s August announcement of €235 million worth of embankment contracts to extend the main line north to Latvia and nearly 19 km of earthworks south of Kaunas. Lithuania already has active rail laying, material supplies, and major construction works in progress.
Latvia, however, is falling behind. Arenijus Jackus, Lithuania’s member on the RB Rail board, warned that even a basic operational line by 2030—with tracks, electrification, and signalling—“cannot be guaranteed.”
Latvian officials now admit their section will likely not be ready before 2035. Out of the planned 200 km in Latvia, only 43 km have been designed, with the rest lacking both plans and funding. Lawmakers say Latvia needs €2.7 billion to complete the work, but nearly €1 billion in EU funding is at risk if Rail Baltica is not running by 2030.
