On Rails into the Future

The route, stretching from Tallinn (Estonia) through Riga (Latvia), Kaunas and Vilnius (Lithuania) to Warsaw (Poland), will be a crucial link between Northern, Eastern, and Central Europe for both passenger and freight transport. Once completed, the fully electrified railway will support speeds up to 249 km/h and use the standard 1435 mm gauge. This standardization is vital for seamless interoperability, eliminating the previous need for cumbersome changeovers and reloading when traveling between Central Europe and the Baltic States.

Given the complexity of major projects like this, project leaders rely on the expertise of Doka. The Austria-based formwork and scaffolding specialist has already been awarded a number of coveted contracts for various preliminary construction projects within the Rail Baltica framework.

"The ambitious Rail Baltica project showcases our expertise and competence in supporting our customers with the challenges connected with large-scale projects like this. Our contribution to the Rail Baltica initiative exemplifies our ability to support the cost-effective and timely implementation of over 500 subtasks through professional project management,” says Doka CEO Robert Hauser. "Our practical experience, understanding of complex construction management and ability to adapt to the customer needs, brings real value to large-scale construction projects."

Transforming Riga Central Station
One of the standout components of Rail Baltica is the transformation of Riga’s Central Station into the largest passenger hub in the Baltics. The unique architecture, featuring a wide-span steel structure and an impressive glass roof nearly 30 meters high and covering 2,100 square meters, will make it a centrepiece of the project. This grand undertaking presents several challenges, including a tight schedule, limited urban space, and significant vertical loads, all of which demand a sophisticated formwork concept. The joint venture BERERIX, comprising the BESIX Group, RERE Būve, and Rizzani de Eccher, is responsible for overseeing the station's design and construction and has engaged Doka's expertise.

“Investing in Doka’s products and solutions adds real value by providing quality, safety and efficiency of a project”, states Nicola Stefanutti, Technical Manager & Head of Procurement Department at BERERIX. “Especially valuable and time-saving was the aspect of ‘ready to use services,’ meaning the immediate readiness of the formwork systems without the need for complex pre-assembly.”

All from a single source
Thanks to tailor-made formwork solutions compromising 570 pre-assembled Doka Top 50 elements, and 50 truckloads of shoring such as Staxo and UniKit, the project’s demanding requirements were successfully met. The Doka team used 3D planning to precisely align the formwork solution with the construction process. The impressive scale and precision are highlighted by the approximately 87,000 elements planned in the advanced DokaCAD Revit model. For the construction of the bridge linking the station, Doka Staxo and Ringlock scaffolding, along with the Concremote concrete monitoring system, were employed.

“Close collaboration between BERERIX, the on-site Doka team, and a tailored project team including professionals from different divisions and locations is one of the key success factors and plays a crucial role in building trust and strengthening cooperation“, quotes Igors Stefanovics, project manager at Doka Latvia.

With the roof level of the Central Station reached in February 2024, the Doka team is already advancing on the next stages in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, including the new train station at Riga Airport.

More about the project: railbaltica.org