The Lithuanian Ministry of Transport approved a project for the development of the Rail Baltica network in the Panevėžys area, in northern Lithuania. Concerning rail freight, the decision was to build a new hub to accommodate standard gauge traffic in Berčiūnai, a village 10 kilometres west of Panevėžys. This is a key location for the project as it is part of the section connecting the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, with the Latvian one, Riga.