This includes a €6.8m contract announced on February 25 for the design of the 71km Pärnu - Rapla section in Estonia and a €6.9m two year contract announced on February 27 for the design of the 78km Kaunas - Ramygala stretch in Lithuania. Four proposals were received from international consortia for both contracts, with Idom submitting the most economical proposals in both tenders. Idom will design the railway substructure, superstructure and related civil structures on the sections in Estonia and Lithuania, as well as undertaking site investigations, value engineering, development of the master design and detailed technical design. It will also be responsible for design supervision during the construction period. The contracts will be signed in March, following due process. Rail Baltica is multi-national joint venture between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to construct an 870km standard-gauge line, which includes 213km in Estonia, 265km in Latvia and 391km in Lithuania. The double-track line will be electrified at 2x25kV ac and equipped with ERTMS Level 2. Freight trains will have an axleload of 25 tonnes and a maximum length of 1050m. Under common design guidelines approved in 2018, the line will have a maximum operating speed of 249km/h for passenger trains and 120km/h for freight. “Announcing the first winners of the detailed technical design tenders on the main line is a significant milestone for the RB global project,” says Mr Ignas Degutis, RB Rail acting CEO. “We are satisfied with the experience and calibre of the selected company. It will bring the expertise from the Spanish high speed rail - the longest high speed rail network in Europe operating with maximum design speed 310km/h.” Idom has more than 20 years of experience in designing conventional and high-speed rail in Europe and the United States. RB Rail says Idom’s technical expertise includes civil engineering, track, electrification, signalling, rolling stock, operational planning, maintenance and Rams. The company has recently been involved in high speed projects in Spain, Poland and Sweden. For detailed information on international projects around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.