Show FullscreenEUROPE: The COBELEC consortium and the Rail Baltica international standard gauge line’s project promoters ceremonially signed the €1·77bn design and build contract for electrification of the future corridor in Vilnius on September 15. ‘By selecting a single contractor for both design and construction, we ensure efficiency, consistency and cost control. This approach allows us to cut life-cycle costs, improve energy efficiency and deliver clear environmental benefits’, said Aiga Benfelde, Senior Contract Manager at RB Rail and Chair of the procurement commission. Project scopeRB Rail said the Rail Baltica project involves electrifying 870 route-km and 2 403 track-km across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. ‘We are proud to lead Europe’s largest railway electrification project’, the consortium said.