Study of Possibility of Development of High-Speed Railways in Lithuania

The chapter delves into the potential development of high-speed railways in Lithuania, with a particular focus on the Rail Baltica project, which aims to connect Lithuania and other Baltic countries to a common European railway network. The analysis covers the operational models for high-speed rail traffic, evaluating their compatibility with the existing Lithuanian railway network, which features both 1520 mm and 1435 mm gauges. The study assesses the feasibility of integrating new standard-gauge high-speed rail lines into the current infrastructure, highlighting the complexities and solutions for ensuring seamless train traffic management. The chapter also examines the strategic importance of the Vilnius–Klaipeda railway line, which has been included in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) development project. It provides a detailed timeline for the implementation of the Rail Baltica project in Lithuania, from planning and construction to the installation of traffic management and electrification systems. The research employs Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, including the Kendall’s rank correlation and Average Rank Transformation Into Weight (ARTIW) techniques, to determine the most rational operational model for high-speed rail traffic. The findings suggest that an exclusive exploitation model, where high-speed trains operate on separate tracks, is the most viable option for the initial stages of high-speed rail development in Lithuania. The chapter concludes with recommendations for ensuring the interaction of different train standards in international railway stations and for enhancing the accessibility of high-speed trains to all regions of Lithuania.