High-speed line Berlin – Riga – Helsinki
In the 1990’s, there was talk of ambitious rail projects in the Baltic States, including a north-south line. It was seen as the rail equivalent of the north-south motorway project, the Via Baltica. When the Baltic States joined the European Union, the north-south axis was included in the Trans-European Networks, but by then the rail proposals had been drastically scaled down. The present version is Priority Axis 27, the Rail Baltica Project. The project expenditure consists of:
- Warsaw – Kaunas: Reconstruction / new construction, 437 km (2004–10), € 300 million in Lithuania
- Kaunas – Riga: Modernisation / new construction, 283 km (2010–14) , €850 million
- Riga – Tallinn: Modernisation / new construction, 470 km (2010–2018), € 1500 million
Despite the claimed “new construction”, Rail Baltica mainly upgrades existing lines, using sometimes circuitous routes. It seems primarily intended for freight. The level of expenditure – about €3 million / km – will not permit any dramatic improvements to the lines. The Rail Baltica route starts in Warsaw, and no improvement is planned of the shorter routes, near the coast. The reason is simple: they would cross Kaliningrad Oblast. This is the northern half of the former East Prussia or Ostpreussen, allocated to the Soviet Union in 1945, and now part of the Russian Federation. The former rail route Berlin – Königsberg was cut after the First World War, and more definitively after the Second World War, when Königsberg became the Russian city of Kaliningrad. In 1914, a journey Berlin – Königsberg – Tallinn crossed one border. Today it crosses five, including a double crossing of the EU external boundary. There was no direct Königsberg – Tallinn rail line, neither during the Russian Empire, nor in the Soviet Union, but rail journeys were possible. It is not possible to make the trip by rail today: there are no north-south passenger services across Latvia.
The proposal here is made from a European perspective, and ignores the past and present borders. It includes upgrading of the former Berlin – Königsberg route, and the construction of a new standard gauge high-speed line, on an almost entirely new alignment, to Riga and Tallinn. At Tallinn, it would connect to a tunnel under the Gulf of Finland to Helsinki – with standard-gauge (or mixed gauge) tracks. The third phase of Rail Baltica is supposed to include a new Riga – Pärnu – Tallinn line, but no funds have been allocated beyond Phase I.
Ostpreussen
The proposal here is a complete reconstruction of the line, to allow speeds of 200 km/h, and more where possible on the existing alignment. In Berlin, the line was 4-track as far as Strausberg, and the parallel S-Bahn line can carry all traffic to there. The remaining 55 km to the Oder, with 11 station, now carries a limited (hourly) service: line NE26 of the Berlin regional network. In Poland the line is at right angles to the main traffic flows, and was downgraded in relation to the north-south routes which cross it. Upgrading would include additional tracks, where necessary, for regional and freight traffic. At some places, such as Krzyz and Tczew, the route joins other main routes: all junctions should be grade-separated. Some services would stop at these stations: for instance at Tczew, the line crosses the Bydgoszcz – Gdańsk line.
The proposed new section would shorten the route from Elblag to Kaliningrad, with a new high-speed line Elblag – Svetloye, following the alignment of the 1938 Reichsautobahn Berlin Königsberg. The railway and autobahn cross just east of Elblag: the new rail line would use an easier route to climb to the Elblag Uplands (Wysoczyzna Elbląska). The coastal line through Braniewo would be retained for regional and freight traffic. From Svetloye to Kaliningrad, the line would be 4-track, all standard gauge. Break of gauge would be at Kaliningrad Station, implying a reconstructed track layout. (There is no logic in the current arrangement, which was determined by the 1945 borders).
From Kaliningrad, the Preussische Ostbahn turned east, to the Russian border at Eydtkuhnen, now Chernyshevskoye. This line is still the main axis in the Kaliningrad Oblast: it continues to Kaunus, Vilnius, Minsk and Moscow (see the proposal for a high-speed line to Vilnius). At Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk), the old line to Memel (Klaipėda) turned north, crossing the Neman (Memel) river at Tilsit (Sovetsk). A simple line was later built to connect the line north of Tilsit to the line Liepāja – Šiauliai – Radviliškis – Vilnius (1874) at Radviliškis. It is used only for freight. From Šiauliai, there is a line north to Jelgava also freight-only. The line Jelgava – Riga is electrified, and carries a suburban service.
The proposed new line (about 380 km in total) would start west of Kaliningrad station. It would cross the Pregola river, turning north-east toward Polessk (Labiau, 7500 inhabitants). It might follow part of the alignment of the former secondary rail line Königsberg – Labiau – Tilsit, through Polessk. East of Polessk, it would turn toward the Talpaki – Sovetsk highway (E77, A216), and follow it into Sovetsk (formerly Tilsit, population 42 000), using the existing alignment through the station. South of Sovetsk, the line would join the proposed Ausbaustrecke Poznań – Sovetsk and the proposed HSL Kaunas – Šakiai – Sovetsk. Just north of Sovetsk, a new high-speed line to Klaipėda and Liepāja could diverge from the Riga line. After crossing the Neman (Memel) river, the Riga line would turn north-east toward Šiauliai, using a completely new alignment parallel to the the E77 (A12 in Lithuania). It would have stations at Tauragė (population 28 500, district 51 000), and at Kelmė (10 500, district 39 000). (The station spacing on the new line would be about 50 km).
In Šiauliai (population 129 000), the rail line and station are aligned east-west, south of the city centre. It would be possible to route the new line over the existing alignment, with extra tracks. A more difficult option is a tunnel under the former main road, which passes through the city (there is now a by-pass). This alignment is about 600 m from the existing station, so interchange would be complicated. North of Šiauliai, the line would again run parallel to the A12 / E77, with a station at Joniškis (population 11 000, district 30 000). The new line would follow the existing alignment of the freight line, into a reconstructed Jelgava station: there is sufficient room for the extra tracks. Jelgava (66 000 inhabitants) is the centre of the Zemgale region, and a rail junction, with lines to Riga, Mažeikiai, Liepaja, Ventspils, and a freight route to Russia via Jekabpils.
From Jelgava, the new line would run parallel to the existing line into Riga, 43 km away. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states (717 000), but it has a limited rail infrastructure, and all investment is directed to new roads. A double-track bridge crosses the Daugava river into the main station, south of the historic city centre. Reconstruction would (at least) double the bridge, with parallel standard-gauge tracks. The station would also need improvement: possibly the suburban lines could be re-routed through a new east-west tunnel, under the historic centre (Vecriga).
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From Riga, the new line would follow the existing line to Garkalne. (There are two sharp curves on the route out of the city, but any alternative alignments would be much longer). There are several possible variants for the route, from Garkalne to Pärnu:
- a high-speed line via Valmiera. This is a longer route, but the line can also carry trains to Tartu and Pskov via Valka/Valga. From Valmiera the line would run north on a new alignment to Mõisaküla, and then follow the alignment of a former narrow-gauge line Valga – Pärnu. (The Soviet-era rail connection ran via Mõisaküla, Rūjiena and Limbaži).
- to Skulte, and then along the coast, parallel to the E67 road. (The coast between Riga and Skulte is largely built-up: it is served by an electrified section of the Limbaži line. No passenger services now run beyond Skulte).
- to Limbaži, and then due north, inland from the coast, to join the alignment of the old narrow-gauge line, near Surju, about 20 km from Pärnu.
The only intermediate stations for high-speed trains would be Limbaži (population 9 000, district 38 000), or Valmiera (27 500, district 60 000). However a Valmiera – Pärnu line could also have a regional function, especially if the connection Mõisaküla – Viljandi was re-opened. The alignment via Limbaži is shown below, it would be about 200 km long.
At Pärnu (population 45 000, the largest tourist centre in Estonia), the line would follow the existing rail alignment across the Pärnu river, and then the E67 by-pass road (Ehitajate tee). The station could be relocated to the north end of Ehitajate tee, about 2 km north of the city centre (on a peninsula south of the river). From Pärnu, the line would run approximately parallel to the E67 toward Tallinn, a fairly direct route, about 125 km long.
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One intermediate station is possible at Märjamaa. It is a small town (population 3 000, municipality 7 500), but density is low anyway. Here the new line would cross the former narrow-gauge line Rapla – Virtsu (1931-1968), which carried passengers to the island of Saaremaa. Approaching Tallinn, the new line would leave the E67, to join the existing rail alignment at Saku, about 15 km south of the city centre. At Tallinn (population 400 000), the trains would terminate at the main station, Balti Jaam, on the north-west edge of the historic centre.
This is a terminal station, and a future Tallinn – Helsinki tunnel would probably start east of the city. The tunnel, a long-standing proposal, is currently only supported by the two cities themselves. Since they can not finance the estimated construction costs of at least € 2 300 million, construction is at present unlikely. (It would be the longest undersea tunnel in the world). The proposed alignments for the tunnel include:
- Maardu via Porkkala peninsula to Jorvas, on the rail line to Espoo and Helsinki. In Maardu, about 12 km west of central Tallinn on the Viims peninsula, the line would connect to the Tallinn – Narva – St. Petersburg line, close to the port zone of Muuga. (There is an existing freight link).
- Maardu to Pasila rail depot in Helsinki itself.
- an alignment via Naissaar island.
The tunnel would be 80 to 90 km long, depending on the route chosen, with a maximum depth of about 200 m under sea level. The total trip, from central Tallinn to central Helsinki, would be about 90 km -100 km. (The great circle distance between the two central stations is 82 km). It may not be logical or efficient to operate through services, all the way from Berlin to Helsinki and further. Trains from Maardu could, in any case, access the new Riga line via a connection at Luite – and so avoid reversal in Tallinn. Probably the most logical option is a break of gauge at Tallinn. All trains from Finland would either turn east on the Narva line, or terminate at Balti Jaam in Tallinn.
The Kaliningrad – Riga – Tallinn lines would be about 700 km long, and the total Berlin – Tallinn route about 1300 km.
