Regarding adapting non-Western gauge track, it is worth making the transition. The item that I addressed and you dodged is timeline.
Regarding Russia rebuilding its rail infrastructure, Russia has invested a significant amount of money in military engineering brigades to repair rail corridors. Also, Russia isn’t fighting off an invading force.
You’re still leaving out Finland and the Baltics. It also depends on what Russia may attempt to take back. Putin’s current goals appears to be reestablishing control over Soviet territory. That puts the Baltics at risk. You could see Russia attempt to take the Baltics similar to how it took the Crimean Peninsula and make the EU choose if it is worth it to conduct a war to liberate the Baltics like Ukraine had to debate liberate the Crimean Peninsula.
I explicitly mentioned Finland (transport by ship instead of rail or air) and implicitly addressed the Baltics as any attack on them will start with an attempt to close the Suwalki gap between Kalinigrad and Belarus, which makes Eastern Poland the front line.
and you dodged is timeline
Some rail lines in the Baltics were already reworked, some were build new, years ago with a new track guage not matching the former Russian one but intentionally not to EU standard. So I’m not addressing the timeline because there was obviously no interest in the first place.
Regarding adapting non-Western gauge track, it is worth making the transition. The item that I addressed and you dodged is timeline.
Regarding Russia rebuilding its rail infrastructure, Russia has invested a significant amount of money in military engineering brigades to repair rail corridors. Also, Russia isn’t fighting off an invading force.
You’re still leaving out Finland and the Baltics. It also depends on what Russia may attempt to take back. Putin’s current goals appears to be reestablishing control over Soviet territory. That puts the Baltics at risk. You could see Russia attempt to take the Baltics similar to how it took the Crimean Peninsula and make the EU choose if it is worth it to conduct a war to liberate the Baltics like Ukraine had to debate liberate the Crimean Peninsula.
I explicitly mentioned Finland (transport by ship instead of rail or air) and implicitly addressed the Baltics as any attack on them will start with an attempt to close the Suwalki gap between Kalinigrad and Belarus, which makes Eastern Poland the front line.
Some rail lines in the Baltics were already reworked, some were build new, years ago with a new track guage not matching the former Russian one but intentionally not to EU standard. So I’m not addressing the timeline because there was obviously no interest in the first place.