LITHUANIA: Infrastructure manager LTG Infra has established a dedicated railway design unit, which is initially aimed at ensuring rapid and continuous progress with the Rail Baltica project despite a shortage of capacity in the open market. It will also help to develop domestic capabilities for handling future projects including further standard gauge routes.
‘LTG Infra is taking the initiative to establish a competence centre for high speed railway design, which will complement and strengthen market capabilities’, explained CEO Vytis Žalimas. ‘Over time, this unit — developing expertise in high speed rail and modern infrastructure design — will offer its know-how beyond Lithuania’s borders.’
Some design work will now be handled internally, while other work will continue to be outsourced through open tenders.
Building an international team
The unit aims to bring together an international team of professionals with expertise in a variety of fields including railway, bridge and infrastructure engineering, environmental sciences, systems design and digital process management.
LTG Group will also provide paid internships and collaborate with universities. An initiative has been launched to raise the prestige of engineering careers amongst school pupils and to encourage more young people to pursue STEM disciplines.
Designing for future generations
The design unit is headed by Mykolas Dumbrava, who emphasised that it was intended to be a long-term centre of expertise, not a temporary measure.
‘We are designing not only for Rail Baltica, but also for the infrastructure Lithuania will leave to future generations’, said Dumbrava. ‘We are creating a unit where every engineer, designer and technical specialist can grow professionally, tackle complex challenges and find true professional purpose. Today, we need people motivated not only by data-driven design but also by the opportunity to create a significant, lasting positive social impact’.
Announcing the launch of the design unit, the Ministry of Transport & Communications added that ‘once Rail Baltica is completed, the European gauge network will be extended towards Klaipėda and throughout Lithuania, ensuring continued demand for design activities beyond 2030.’
Read more about the modernisation and expansion of the Baltic States’ rail networks in the October 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine, which will be available to subscribers in our ‘Insights’ section from October 1.