Analysis
Rail Baltica and SMGS/CIM documentation: what's changing, when, and why it matters now
Written by Natys Vytautas, Managing Director, UAB NVGroup.
Rail Baltica is the largest railway infrastructure project in Baltic history: 870 km of new, European-standard (1435mm) electrified rail from Tallinn to the Polish border, connecting Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the rest of the European network. The project is valued at roughly €23.8 billion, funded largely through the EU's Connecting Europe Facility.
Where construction actually stands
The first, commercially most relevant stretch — Section 1, between Poland and Lithuania (110 km) — is expected to be completed in the 2026–2028 window. That's the first point at which the line will provide any commercial value at all. The remaining two sections (Lithuania–Latvia and Latvia–Estonia) are planned considerably later, in the 2029–2035 range.
By mid-2026, roughly 43% of the Phase 1 mainline was construction-ready, with over €4 billion in EU funding already secured. This is real, ongoing construction — not a paper plan — but still far from full operation.
Why this matters for your SMGS/CIM documentation
The Baltic region is currently the only place in Europe running two different rail gauge standards at once — the Soviet-era 1520mm gauge (used under the SMGS system) and the European 1435mm gauge (used under CIM). Every shipment crossing between these systems has to pass through a gauge transshipment point, where either the wagon is switched or the wheels are changed.
Rail Baltica doesn't eliminate this dual system quickly — it adds a new, European-standard corridor alongside the existing 1520mm network, rather than replacing it. That means both systems will keep running in parallel for years, likely a decade, and new transshipment points (such as the planned node at Salaspils, Latvia) will supplement, not replace, the existing network.
What this means practically for a forwarder right now
- In the near term (2026-2028) — the change affects only that specific Poland-Lithuania stretch. If your cargo doesn't run that particular route, there's no direct documentation impact yet.
- In the medium term — as new transshipment points come online, your SMGS/CIM documentation will include new locations that need to be recognized and processed correctly.
- Worth watching, not worth rushing to change processes now — infrastructure still under construction doesn't call for urgent action, but it does call for awareness that change is coming.
Our approach
Our rail module already supports both Baltic standards today, including existing gauge transshipment points. As Rail Baltica's first sections come into actual operation and new, confirmed transshipment nodes appear, we'll update the supported list to track real infrastructure status, not plans on paper.