First stage of Rail Baltica planned for completion by September 2028

Lithuania plans to complete the first stage of Rail Baltica by the third quarter of 2028, according to a government measures plan led by Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius. The transport ministry expects technical progress across the entire project to reach 40 percent.

By the end of 2028, work on parts of the European-gauge Kaunas-Panevėžys railway is scheduled to include construction of the railway embankment and installation of the upper track structure. Transport Minister Juras Taminskas has said the project is already four years behind schedule, but argued that this is not a long delay for an infrastructure project of its size in the European Union, where the average delay exceeds 17 years.

The plan also sets targets for Lithuania’s wider transport network. By mid-2027, the share of electrified railways is due to rise from 7.97 percent to 28 percent, while traffic control and signaling systems are to cover at least 100 kilometers of railway. By 2028, at least 61 percent of paved national roads should meet pavement-condition requirements.

The ministry plans to begin using private investment for road renewal through at least four public-private partnership projects. By September 2028, it also aims to repair 105 bridges and viaducts, halve the number of identified accident black spots, improve 500 unsafe pedestrian crossings and pave 160 kilometers of national gravel roads. Other plans include rebuilding the Kaunas-Prienai-Alytus road section between Kaunas and Prienai and preparing planning documents for the A8, A10 and A17 sections of the Via Baltica.

The programme includes 18 permanent weighing stations for heavy vehicles, 5,500 publicly accessible charging points, four hydrogen stations and 22 biomethane stations. Lithuania also wants alternative-fuel vehicles to account for 20 percent of newly registered passenger cars, up from 10 percent. Further targets include a new arrivals terminal at Vilnius Airport by the third quarter of 2028 and at least six additional air routes. The ministry also plans broadband expansion and mobile-network infrastructure planning in at least five counties.

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Rail Baltica is already four years late, and this deadline is not long for an infrastructure project of this size in the European Union. The average delay is more than 17 years.