By mid-January, infrastructure works on the Tartu line will be finished and the journey from Tallinn to Tartu will once again take less than two hours. From 1 February, the Tallinn–Tartu railway infrastructure will be ready to accommodate Elron's new Škoda electric trains.
So that passengers know what to expect, Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railways) is giving an overview of the completion of works on the Tartu line and the changes to train services. Until mid-January, passengers will still need to allow for some inconvenience. After that, the journey time from Tallinn to Tartu will be reduced to 1 hour 55 minutes.
“Electrification of the Tartu line, together with the renewal of the railway and its signaling systems, is one of the largest investments in Estonia’s existing railway network in recent decades. The works are now reaching their final stage, and Siemens representatives confirmed at yesterday’s meeting that the works schedule will allow the new electric trains to start running on the Tartu line from February,” said Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis. “The new trains will make travelling by train more comfortable, and the upgraded infrastructure will gradually allow journey times to be shortened as well. The arrival of the electric trains will also make it possible to move the current diesel trains to other lines and to run trains more frequently elsewhere in Estonia.”
“Based on information from Siemens Mobility Oy and GRK Rail Oy consortium, we can say that the final works to bring the new signaling system into use on the Tartu line are in the home stretch. The most work still lies ahead in November, and it is being carried out on a railway with live train traffic. That is why passengers should keep a particularly close eye on timetables during this period. It is inconvenient, but we ask for a little more patience. Journeys will become faster from December, and from mid-January it will be possible to travel from Tallinn to Tartu in under two hours,” said Merle Kurvits, Chair of the Management Board of Eesti Raudtee.
Quote from Elron to be added here.
Eesti Raudtee is carrying out infrastructure works on the Tartu line station by station. The railway is not being closed during the works, as this would take away an important means of transport from passengers and shift freight onto the roads. On the Tartu line, the system that controls train traffic and ensures its safety is being replaced. Nõmmküla, Tamsalu and Kiltsi come first. They will be followed by Rakke, Vägeva, Pedja and Jõgeva, then Kaarepere and Tabivere, and in January 2027 Kärkna and Tartu.
On the Tartu line, journeys in November will take up to two and a half hours and will start to become shorter in December. From summer 2027, the fastest train will travel from Tallinn to Tartu in 1 hour 45 minutes. In areas affected by railway works, passengers should expect timetables to change more often than usual (changes are a matter of minutes, not hours). If there are any delays in the construction works, Eesti Raudtee will inform Elron immediately so that Elron can notify passengers of timetable changes.
At the same time, infrastructure works are continuing on the Narva line, where journey times will already be reduced in November: instead of the current two and a half hours, the journey will take just over two hours (2 hours 7 minutes). From January 2027, it will be possible to travel from Tallinn to Narva in under two hours, and from June the journey will take 1 hour 50 minutes.
Background
With European Union funding, Eesti Raudtee is renewing the signaling and safety systems on most of the Estonian railway network. The works are being carried out by a consortium of Siemens Mobility Oy and GRK Rail Oy under a contract signed in November 2020. The works on the Tapa–Tartu section are part of this contract.
AS Eesti Raudtee is a company owned by the Republic of Estonia that is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of railway infrastructure. The company creates the conditions for people and goods to travel quickly and safely.
