The railroad, much like any other infrastructure, requires persistent investment and renovation. Support obtained from the Cohesion Fund ever since accession of Estonia to the European Union has enabled major repairs on hundreds of kilometers of railroad and surrounding infrastructure. Such repairs are ongoing as a large part of the railroad still dates back to the 1960s.
The objective of relevant investment projects is to ensure sustainable transportation. Priorities also include connecting environment friendly, low-noise, and low-carbon transportation systems, including inland waterways, maritime transport, harbors, and other different modes of transport as well as developing and improving airport infrastructures for the purpose of advancing sustainable regional and local mobility.
Projects
Estonian Railways launched an ambitious investment plan until 2030, taking the quality, traffic management and safety of railway infrastructure to a new level. To this end, the company has started cooperating with the Spanish company INDRA SISTEMAS S.A., which won the tender for the automation of traffic management processes.
Estonian Railways launched an ambitious investment plan until 2030, taking the quality, traffic management and safety of railway infrastructure to a new level. In 2020-2024, it is planned to upgrade the security systems on six sections of the infrastructure of AS Eesti Raudtee and at approximately 50 stations. To this end, a major contract for the modernization of railway safety systems (CCS) was signed today at a cost of just over € 115 million.
10.6 million euros were allocated to Estonian Railways for the liquidation of the railway sorting station in Ülemiste and for the reconstruction of the Tapa sorting station. The relocation of the Ülemiste sorting station to Tapa will give more space to the Ülemiste urban space and open up the possibility of bringing new investments to the area. In addition, the Rail Baltic terminal will be there in the future. The reconstruction of the new sorting park is divided into two stages, where the first stage will include design and construction work, which is planned to be completed by the end of summer 2023. In the second stage, the construction of the automation necessary for sorting at Tapa station and the connection of the sorting park with the security equipment of Tapa station will be completed, the deadline of which is August 2024.
Electrification
Estonian Railways is a responsible company and next to our principal objective - provision of premium quality railroad infrastructure related services for the purposes of both carriage of passengers and carriage of goods - we seek to reduce the harmful effect that rail transport has on the environment. The electric railway is one of the most eco-friendliest modes of transport.
Estonia has set a goal of covering approximately 14% of the transportation’s sectors energy use from renewable sources by 2030. One third of this capacity is planned to be covered by increased electric rail traffic volumes. Expansion of the electric railway calls for significant extension of relevant contact network.
Design work on the first sections of the electric railway commences in 2020 and relevant implementation will be carried out in 2020-2028.
More information on electrification plans is available in English.