BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended a loan of 175 million euros(182 million U.S. dollars) to Poland for the modernization of a railway line, the bank said in a press release Friday.
The financing will benefit the construction of over 100 km of railway line within the Rail Baltica project, the only railway connection linking the Baltic states with Poland and other European Union countries.
The modernization will shorten the travel time between Warsaw to Bialystok, a city in northeastern Poland, from the current 2 hours 26 minutes to less than 2 hours.
EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak said this is a project with a European dimension and a strong climate action focus.
"Because it will result in better quality and higher use of passenger rail services and freight transport in Poland, generating significant energy savings and reductions in harmful emissions," Hudak added.
