14.03.2017
1. Powerful acceleration of sustainable economic development in the Baltic States
The Rail Baltic project plays a major role in accelerating the economic development of the Baltic states, as the construction of the high-speed railway will create hundreds of new jobs and the project will contribute to the countries' GDP through direct and indirect investments. In addition, the completed high-speed railway will support economic development more broadly, bringing with it indirect benefits and investments in infrastructure.
2. A new standard in passenger and freight transport
Rail Baltic will reduce distances both within Estonia and in the Baltic States. Riga and Kaunas will become more accessible to us than ever before thanks to the fast train connection: a trip to Riga from Tallinn will take almost the same amount of time as a bus trip to Tartu currently takes. You can travel from Tallinn to Pärnu by train in less than an hour, the same amount of time it currently takes to travel through the city of Tallinn during rush hour. Estonians will thus have access to high-quality, fast, comfortable and customer-friendly travel options, while cargo owners and logisticians will have the opportunity to send their goods quickly to every corner of Europe, using the extensive European railway system directly and without obstacles.
3. A new economic corridor will be created
Rail Baltic is not just a physical railway line, but it creates a new economic corridor, i.e. a powerful circle of international integration. A good example is the construction of the Öresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, which began to function as a successful trade route between the Nordic countries and Europe. The Rail Baltic high-speed railway will also connect the Baltic countries to the regional supply chain, thus completing the so-called Great Nordic Transport Circle.
Equally important is the fact that the new railway will give us access to major European ports. Rail Baltic is planned as part of the European Union's TEN-T North Sea-Baltic Corridor, which will connect Europe's largest ports (Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp) via the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland to the three Baltic states, from where it will continue to Finland via the trade routes of the Gulf of Finland.
4. New employment and education opportunities
During the planning and construction phase, Rail Baltic will need a lot of support from the local workforce: a large number of new jobs will be created in the construction and design field. This will boost employment throughout Estonia. Through project management, the best experiences, knowledge and skills from other large cross-border projects will be concentrated here. At the macro level, Rail Baltic will also support the creation of a common labor market within the Baltic States. In addition, after the railway is completed, more job opportunities will be created in Estonia, because the high-speed railway will significantly shorten the distances between work and home. Among other things, this will increase the catchment areas of the universities of Tallinn and Pärnu.
5. Environmentally friendly infrastructure
Rail Baltic, as an environmentally friendly mode of transport, reduces people's ecological footprint. 21st century Europe faces many threats caused by global warming, pollution and other environmental factors. Rail is the only common mode of transport that is almost entirely non-fossil fuel based: its share in the overall energy use of European transport is less than 2%. By shifting both passenger and freight transport from roads to rail, Rail Baltic will also significantly reduce the economic impacts of climate change, road maintenance costs and noise pollution.
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