11 May (BNS) - Estonia's Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts and the European Union co-ordinator for the Rail Baltica project Pavel Telicka agreed at a meeting on May 11, that a passenger train link between Tallinn and Warsaw could realistically be launched within the next few years.
Parts said what this takes is co-operation and will among the three Baltic states and the European Commission, spokespeople for the Ministry of Economy and Communications report.
The minister told Telicka it is necessary to focus on the rail link implementation project so that passenger train traffic on the existing rails could be launched within a few years. "At the same time, it is necessary to see to it that the distance between Tallinn and Warsaw can be covered within a reasonable length of time," he added. "Estonia has already contributed financially to this and is ready to continue doing so in the future," the minister added.
According to Parts, joint efforts are required for passenger carriage not to get stuck in red tape and technical obstacles. Telicka agreed with Estonian proposals and the issue will be brought up at the next conference of pan-European transport networks in June, the ministry said.
Estonia will together with EU support contribute close to 1.3 billion kroons (EUR 83.1 mln) to Rail Baltica in 2008-2011.
BNS