The Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw on behalf of the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship was participating in the NSB CoRe project – North Sea Baltic Connector of Regions. The project was financed in 85% from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The total budget of the project is 3 307 648 euros, of which 140 000 euros were funds for the implementation of tasks of the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The project was implemented between May 2016 and April 2019.
The NSB CoRe project, led by the Helsinki Uusimaa Regional Council, was continuation of the Rail Baltica Growth Corridor project, which was implemented by the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in 2011-2013.
The NSB CoRe project aimed to improve the sustainable accessibility of the Eastern Baltic Sea Region (EBSR) to freight and passenger transport. NSB CoRe focused its activities around the TEN-T core network corridor North Sea – Baltic, of which a key element is the E75 – Rail Baltica railway line. The project focused on supporting entrepreneurship in the corridor, creation and promotion of access points (railway stations and logistics centres) and spatial planning issues, including the use of the new TEN-T core network corridor North Sea – Baltic Sea to increase the capacity of metropolitan transport systems. Cooperation with the business sector and transport operators aims to increase interoperability and to contribute to the elimination of bottlenecks in border crossing areas.
The project involved 16 partners – cities, regions and institutions from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany and Finland and associated organisations – business support organisations and national ministries and agencies active in the field of transport and logistics. The Polish partners: the Regional Governments of the Mazowieckie and Podlaskie Voivodeships and the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in Poznan. Other institutions involved in the project: the cities of Bialystok, Poznan and Elk, the CETC-EGTC Central European Transport Corridor Ltd. and the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development.
Meetings such as international conferences, workshops and on-site visits were the basic forms of activity and co-operation between partners in the NSB CoRe project. Moreover, individual studies and analysis were conducted; entrepreneurs and local government units were involved in cooperation in the survey research.
For the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw – as the unit responsible for the implementation of the project, NSB CoRe was an opportunity to study the effects of Rail Baltica investments on the Warsaw Metropolitan Area urban node.