22.02.2017
1. Powerful acceleration of sustainable economic development in the Baltic States
The Rail Baltic project plays an important role for the Baltic States as an accelerator of economic developmentbecause hundreds of new jobs will be created during the construction phase of the project and the project will contribute to the country's to GDP through various direct, indirect and infrastructure investment factors. The new railway will also support economic development during its operational phase by increasing access to Baltic markets and enhancing trade competition, making the region more attractive to foreign investment, supporting sustainable productivity goals and enhancing competition within and across the Baltic States in the transport and logistics industry. Historically, the availability of modern infrastructure has been a key factor in prosperity and international competition. High-speed rail infrastructure is particularly important in this regard, bringing with it secondary benefits and macroeconomic factors in various types of investments in infrastructure.
2. A new standard in passenger and freight transportation
Rail baltic reduces distances in the Baltic States and throughout Europe. Modern high-speed rail connection offers a convenient, safe and environmentally friendly alternative for passenger transport and development opportunities in the field of network management for intermodal and multimodal transport providers. The new railway infrastructure and its future commercialization will operate in a new seamless intermodal transport model as a digitalization and innovation platform, offering transparency, service integration and personalization. Travelers from the Baltic countries will have access to high-quality, fast, convenient and customer-friendly to travel solutions that have long been enjoyed by Western Europeans. Cargo owners and logisticians will have the opportunity to diversify and streamline their services by using direct and seamless access to the European rail system.
3. A new economic corridor will be created
Rail Baltic It is not just a physical railway line. The physical infrastructure functions as a whole. new economic corridor creation enabling as a technical solution. Its construction will create a powerful circle of transnational integration, illustrated, for example, by the outstanding success of the construction of the Öresund Bridge and its commercialization between Sweden and Denmark, and will also integrate the Baltic states into a new regional supply chain, which is very important in Europe and around the world.
Rail Baltic is planned as part of the European Union's TEN-T North Sea-Baltic Corridor, which will connect Europe's largest ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp via the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland to the three Baltic states, extending further via the Gulf of Finland trade routes to Finland. Future plans include the possibility of a planned connection between Helsinki and Tallinn. The northern extension of this corridor paves the way for a future connection With the Arctic Corridor, taking into account the profitable perspective of developing an alternative Nordic Circular Sea Route Europe and Asia between. Furthermore, the North Sea-Baltic Corridor intersects with the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor in Warsaw, paving the way for the development of a new supply chain between the Baltic and Adriatic Seas, connecting the Baltics with previously inaccessible Southern European markets. Similarly, Rail Baltic will strengthen the North-South and West-East freight flows, creating new transhipment and logistics development opportunities in the European and Asian supply chains. The new Rail Baltic infrastructure would firmly place the Baltic States on the European rail logistics map and create huge new opportunities for value creation, providing secondary economic benefits, such as the development of economic assets, the revitalization of neglected urban areas, additional private investment, the creation of new businesses, technological innovation and development, the development of the tourism industry and breakthroughs in other areas. Rail Baltic aims to showcase these impacts from the early stages of the project, drawing on global success stories and milestones in the field.
4. Sustainable employment and educational opportunities
During the design and construction phase, Rail Baltic will provide significant support for job creation, especially in the construction sector, thereby helping to smooth the business cycle and revitalise the currently weak employment landscape. It will also help to alleviate the job shortage and the negative impacts of the traditional 1520 mm railway system. There will be an increase in the migration of railway professionals from the traditional Baltic railway system to the new European railway industry. As a result, the pool of competent professionals with the necessary skills will increase. knowledge of both railway systemsWhen the project reaches the operational phase, new long-term jobs will be created in infrastructure management, maintenance, station and terminal-based, and passenger and freight transport-related jobs. Rail Baltic by establishing a platform regional competence and know-how to the creation of a centre. Best practices and knowledge and skills from other large cross-border projects will be concentrated here, technological knowledge will be promoted and innovative solutions will be created, doing so for the first time at such a high level in the entire Baltics. International competencies will be developed, which will allow them to act as advisors in other cross-border projects in the future.
At the macro level, Rail Baltic largely supports intra-Baltic common labor market Employment opportunities are expanding, especially around the Rail Baltic line, significantly expanding the distances between work and home. Labor mobility is an important factor in increasing the flexibility of the labor market, making it more resilient to economic downturns. In addition, the catchment areas of universities located near Rail Baltic will increase, ensuring better and faster access to universities.
5. Environmentally sustainable infrastructure
21st century Europe faces many threats from global warming, pollution and other environmental factors. Rail baltic reduces the ecological footprint resulting from human mobility In the Baltic States. Rail is the only major mode of transport that is not almost entirely based on fossil fuels, and its share of European transport energy use is less than 2% despite a market share of more than 8,5%. By shifting both passenger and freight transport from road to rail, Rail Baltic will also significantly reduce the economic impacts of climate change, road maintenance costs and noise pollution through economies of scale.
6. New opportunities for the development of multimodal freight logistics
By integrating the region's most important transport infrastructure elements from from ports ja inland logistics institutions kuni airports ja to city terminals Rail Baltic ecosystem, the project paves the way for the development of new intermodal and multimodal logistics solutions. The Baltic countries will thus be able to strengthen their trade with the rest of the European Union (which together account for approximately three quarters of the total trade volume) using more suitable and competitive supply chains than before. The Baltic countries will also be able to position themselves in the largest supply chains in Europe and the world, both now and in the future. Intermodal transport, high-quality logistics services, digitalization and supply chain management skills will determine the future capabilities of the Baltic countries in developing their role in the European division of labor in the field of transport and logistics. Rail Baltic will be an important tool and source in these areas competitive advantage Container and trailer intermodal transport is gradually expanding in the changing Baltic freight industry, which is moving away from traditional transport, especially dry and wet cargo transshipment. Muuga, Salaspils, Kaunas and other popular destinations are ideally replaced by assembly logistics development platforms and other solutions that support accurate and up-to-date processes in other industries.
7. New intermodal solutions for passengers
From a passenger perspective, connecting Rail baltic in the future central business districts ja with airports, ensuring convenient connectivity for smooth business tripsThe leisure and tourism sectors will also benefit greatly from such intra-Baltic connectivityThe future of travel involves combining different transport solutions into a single digitally controlled and fully tracked door-to-door package, increasing and strengthening connecting interface role – city terminals become multimodal hubs and railway stations at airports become gateways for seamless air-to-train connections. In this vision, Rail baltic creative platform integrated travel solutions for development, the likes of which have not been seen before in the Baltic States.
8. Safety and performance development
It is known and empirically proven that the railway is one of the safest mode of travel. In terms of the number of fatal accidents, rail is about 30 times safer than cars and about 3 times safer than public transport buses, not including the number of accidents with injuries. This would also bring about a significant change in traffic safety, by popularizing rail traffic instead of road travel – the number of freight vehicles on public roads and the intensity of traffic would decrease. Considering the advantages related to speed, using Rail Baltic also entails significant savings in travel time. Compared to traveling by car, where the entire time spent driving is spent behind the wheel, or traveling by plane, which involves a number of different accompanying activities (entering the airport, checking in for the flight, security check, boarding the plane, disembarking from the plane, getting to the city center, etc.), high-speed trains move smoothly from the city center to the center of another city, often without intermediate stops, allowing the passenger the time needed for the journey to use effectivelyAs cities near Rail Baltic develop, traffic intensity will increase proportionally. Rail Baltic offers an alternative way to travel that can avoid and alleviate traffic jams in cities.
9. A new value platform in digitalization and innovation
Although often seen as a bit conservative, the European railway industry is nevertheless very interested in adopting new technological solutions. digitalization and intelligent transport systems (ITS) development. Digitalisation, together with the reduction of CO2 emissions, remains one of the main priorities of the European Union in the field of cross-border transport connectivity in Europe. Innovative technologies such as smart data analysis, Train Internet, new generation social networks (both on the train and in the waiting pavilion), passenger data applications, the introduction of various sensors and economical energy are increasingly influencing the design, construction, maintenance, operation and supply chain development processes of railways. Rail Baltic offers a rapidly developing start-up new to the corporate sector ecosystem in the Baltic States, creating new opportunities and promoting digital innovation at all stages of the project.
10. Final integration of the Baltics into the European Union transport system
The Baltic States are more like islands than landlocked destinations in terms of accessibility to transport infrastructure in the context of the rest of the European Union. Due to the lack of high-speed railways and motorways, air travel is the most widely used mode of travel (especially for business trips), and freight transport is largely handled by sea. Baltic accessibility to the entire European single market is thus limited. Rail Baltic aims to fill this gap by eliminating the missing link and restoring historical justice by re-integrating the Baltics European railway systemBy joining the Single European Railway Area, the Baltic States will increase their trade capacity and there is access to new export markets, which is why thanks to new logistics channels It is precisely in light of these strategic circumstances that the European Union continues to consider Rail Baltica as its "flagship" in the field of transport infrastructure development.
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[1] Rail Baltica will be a new electric double-track high-speed railway line that will meet European standards (1435 mm track gauge). The railway will be ERTMS-capable and have a top speed of 240 km/h.
Ilze Rassa
+ 371 27 337 767
Ilze.rassa@railbaltica.org
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