Trakcja and Kauno, Comsa Emte subsidiaries in Poland and Lithuania, respectively, have been awarded two contracts in Lithuania to upgrade 43 kilometres of the Marijampole-Sestokai railway line. The awards amount to a combined value of 85 million euros and consolidate both companies as leaders in the rail industry in Poland and the Baltic States.
The work is part of the Rail Baltic project, an initiative promoted and co-financed by the European Union to link Finland, the Baltic States and Poland and, in turn, improve the rail link between Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Germany. In this respect, Trakcja and Kauno will implement the European gauge (1,435 mm) on the two sections awarded, which will coexist with the Russian gauge (1,520 mm, the existing rail gauge on the Lithuanian network).
The first contract involves the modernization of Marijampole station and track renewal between the terminal and kilometre point 28+500. The work covers a total of 15 kilometres and includes the replacement of 18 sidings, construction of noise barriers or renewal of underground walkways. This work is valued at 22 million euros.
On this same railway line, Kauno will renew a second 28 kilometre section as far as Sestokai station. The contract, valued at 63 million euros, includes the construction of an additional European gauge track and the repair of six lines, reconstruction of 30 collectors and nine level crossings and the renewal of the service network.
These contracts have been awarded by Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai, a public company that manages the rail network in Lithuania, and they will be performed in conjunction with the Mitnija company.
Trakcja and Kauno have extensive experience in infrastructure construction and development in Eastern Europe. Included among the major rail projects currently being implemented by Kauno in Lithuania is the construction of new tracks on the Kyviskes-Valciunai section of the Vilnius bypass and on the Siauliai-Klaipeda line. In Poland, Trakcja has an orderbook of close to 600 MEUR for work directly related to railway superstructure.
