Rail Baltica has submitted a request for €357.5m from the European Union (EU) to help fund construction of the main Rail Baltica railway through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania between 2027 to 2030.
The funding request will be split between two of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) organisations, with €200m from its general envelope and €157.5m from the cohesion envelope.
Money will be spent on construction, energy and signalling systems and land acquisition in the three Baltic states, with each country also requesting development help.
In Estonia, financing will be spent on building the Tootsi–Timmermanni rail section including bridges, viaducts and wildlife crossings, plus the Pärnu railway bridge.
Funding in Latvia will progress ongoing mainline construction towards the Lithuanian border, including earthworks, bridges, road overpasses and wildlife crossings.
In Lithuania, money will advance electricity infrastructure needed for future railway operations, including high-voltage connections to traction substations.
In July 2025, the CEF supplied €295.5m to Rail Baltica, with the EU supplying €4.5bn in EU funding through 12 CEF grant agreements.
In June 2024, it was estimated that the cost of the 870km line will rise €19bn to €25bn, more than four times the 2017 estimate of €5.8bn.
Construction of the main line will take place in stages. Work was originally due to be completed in 2030 but the completion date is now uncertain.
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