Rail Baltica Business Network organized 3 panel meetings in Poland in 27. – 28. February. The meetings happened outside of Warsaw in cities along the Rail Baltica route. This way the local businesses and governments were more able to express their attitude and expectations towards Rail Baltica.
The panel meetings were organized by the Instytut Innowacyjnosci Polska and were participated by representatives of the European Commission. Meetings took place in Białystok, Ełk and Suwałki.
The main discussions were about the locations of infrastructure surrounding Rail Baltica and additional railway connections, which would be important to build or renew in order to maximize the effect of Rail Baltica. Participants discussed not only local infrastructure needs, but also commented on railway investments in Lithuania and Belarus area.
The meetings proved that local business and governments are beginning to realize that Rail Baltica is becoming a reality. Entrepreneurs were able to comment on development opportunities for their own ventures and business in a situation, where they can have an impact on the infrastructure around the Rail Baltica route.
Everyone who attended the meetings agreed that Rail Baltica will increase the competitiveness of companies and transfer some of the transit traffic, especially transporting cargo to the Baltic countries from roads to railways.
Jakub Siwiński from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport emphasized that Rail Baltica is not only about better mobility or communication accessibility, but also about stimulating economic development by creating new, additional business opportunities in the EU.
Instytut Innowacyjnosci Polska is a sub-contractor in Poland of the advising consortium under the Call for Tenders No MOVE/B1/2017-397 financed by the European Commission (DG-MOVE).