High-speed rail link to connect Kaliningrad and Russia

Construction of a high-speed rail link between Kaliningrad and Russia may begin in 2005, according to Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian president's special representative for the Kaliningrad Region. The railway will provide a non-stop service for people traveling to and from Russia's Baltic enclave across Lithuania.

Rogozin said that a Russian proposal to introduce a high-speed train service that would create a non-stop transit corridor across Lithuania was included in the joint statement issued after the EU-Russia summit in Brussels on November 11, 2002. The statement included a commitment to carry out a feasibility study of visa-free passenger transit between Kaliningrad and Russia proper.

Rogozin added that the study would begin in September 2003 and should be concluded in 2004. Following preliminary consultations, Lithuania has indicated its willingness to support the proposal, which is a pre-requisite of the EU agreeing to finance the construction project.