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About Estonian Railways
# Media
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A new railway line is being planned
Äripäev
Concerned administrations of Estonia and Brussels are preparing a mega-project according to which a new railroad Rail Baltica in conformity with European standards is going to run through Estonia in several years time. It would take 6 hours to reach Warsaw.
This express railway line, one of the 30 most important development projects of transportation infrastructure, would cost EEK 65 bln., the amount would be spent on building a new railway in the Baltics and Poland. Most of the finances planned for the construction of railway would come from the European Union.
We would like to start preliminary studies in the fall, Anti Moppel, transportation adviser with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, member of the international working group dealing with the project, said. These studies should answer the questions: which should be the junctions this railway line passes through; which would be the shortest as well as the best route taking into account developments in the Baltic region, Moppel said.
In Moppel’s words it should be analysed whether the planned speed would be 160, 200 or even 300 km/h. If it is going to be an express railway in the European sense of the word, then freight traffic and passenger traffic shall evidently be organised on two separate tracks because speeds are different.
Freight traffic is important also for Finland – it could export its goods to South- or Central Europe via new railway. Although it is not yet clear which way Rail Baltica will pass through Estonia and Latvia, whether entirely new railway will be built or the old one reconstructed, when exactly it will be ready etc., it is all the same difficult to overestimate the importance of the new railway line. In terms of passenger traffic, for instance – 5 to 6 hours and you will be in Warsaw and this should be a usual mode of travelling, Moppel added.
At present it takes 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach Warsaw by plane but if we add the time for check-in, security and passport control and other procedures at the airport then it will take much more time. Haulage capacity of a train is significantly greater and one of the pluses will also be the future price of a ticket.
Ainars Slesers, Latvian Transportation Minister said at the World Bank’s seminar in Vilnius last week that the Baltic region would benefit even more from the future railway if the possibilities of using it were extended to St.Petersburg, Moppel said. I, too, think that it would be necessary to involve North-Western Russia as well as Finland in the project, provisionally at the stage of studies. Moppel denied earlier speculations about two possible routes: it will not be a selection between two routes, there are more possibilities than that and studies will find out which is the most expedient route, which the conditions of nature are, may some problems arise in densely populated area and so on, Moppel said. It may happen that study recommends to build railway through Viljandi area. Toomas Kivimägi, Acting County Governor of Pärnu declined any comments on the issue saying only that he had sent a relevant letter to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. 10 reasons for why Rail Baltica should pass namely through Pärnu County were listed in this letter.
We have to get goods moving, Meelis Atonen, former Economics Minister said. It is foreseen all over the world that the percentage of rail transportation shall be growing and this is considered important. Today Estonian transit is directed to Russia but new transit in new economic space would give us a new chance. We can make railway go through Pärnu but our industry is located in Ida-Virumaa. Construction of Estonian railway section could be started in the year of 2014 or 2015, former Economics Minister Atonen said. Since we are far away from the center and construction begins at the center then it will be a project for the next 10 years.
Coming back to Pärnu issue – we can transport only passengers through Pärnu but the project involving only passengers is not cost-effective, the number of passengers here is too small. My logic is and I prefer Tapa-Tartu-Valga route. If our aim was the shortest route then we could take a ruler and plot it on a map.
Rail Baltica is a monumental and interesting project and a bit complicated to comment on it right now, Riivo Sinijärv, Deputy Managing Director of Estonian Railways said. In order to proceed from an idea to the project we have to carefully examine feasibility studies. Rail Baltica would mainly compete with road transportation or Via Baltica where there are similar speeds in passenger as well as freight traffic in North-to-South direction. Czarist railway has been built on the principle of East-to-West traffic which would now cross the routes of North-to-South freight traffic. Here we have two alternatives: either we separate them from each other or one of the routes will be suffering. Another question is whether we can provide the North-to-South direction with sufficient amount of goods and sufficient number of passengers in order to guarantee an expedient pay-back period of the project.
Selection of a railway route is a deeply political issue in Estonia, Toivo Jürgenson, former Economics Minister says. Five years ago it was known to us that Rail Baltica was coming, at the same time we knew that we were going to join the European Union. We decided to start with the project early in order to get political problems discussed by the time of accession. One of the problems was whether to renovate old railway or build entirely new one. My personal opinion is that we should build the railway of European gauge to Tallinn, i. e. to build new railway. Sooner or later Rail Baltica will come, the sooner the better, it is useful for us.
Speed 200 km/h. Jaan Õunapuu, Regional Minister:
building of Rail Baltica is of utmost importance for Estonia. It is not only that people could comfortably and cheaply travel from Tallinn to Central-Europe. Right now we are cut off from the most environment-friendly and modern transportation system in Europe. Evidently the railway operating both passenger trains as well as freight trains with maximum speed of 200 km/h will be chosen. It has not yet decided which will be Rail Baltica’s route from Riga to Tallinn.
The project Interreg III (EU supported project for the years of 2000 to 2006) is being prepared at present, in the course of which also the decision on the route will be made. It is planned to hold a round-table involving the representatives of ministries as well as counties in order to thoroughly talk over the selection of routes
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