In the summer of last year, the Government of the Republic decided to invest in the electrification of Estonian railways in the following years and gave Estonian Railways the task of electrifying the infrastructure by 2028. Electrification of the railway network helps to reduce both the environmental impact and the noise and running time of trains.
"As the first big step of the electrification project, we have announced a procurement aimed at finding an experienced engineering service provider and designer. We have introduced the electrification plans to many potential tenderers all over Europe, and therefore we hope to see close competition in the procurement,” commented Andrus Alas, Head of the Estonian Railways Electricity Networks Board.
The organised procurement is divided into two parts. In the first part, the winner of the procurement carries out the necessary research, prepares the technical solution and determines the technical specifications for the planned network. In the second part, the winner of the procurement prepares a preliminary design for the technical solution.
"The preparation of the preliminary design starts from the Aegviidu-Tapa-Tartu section, because we have set a goal in cooperation with Elron that by the end of 2024 it must be possible to travel by electric train from Tallinn to Tartu," Alas added. The contract with the best tenderer is planned to be concluded no later than this autumn, and the contract will be awarded according to the initial plans for four years.
At the beginning of the year, the passenger transport company Elron also announced a procurement for the purchase of six dual-system electric trains with the option to order ten additional trains in the future. Elron is waiting for tenders for the procurement by September 1, and the time for handing over the trains is planned for the second half of 2024.
One of the biggest issues of the next decade in both the transport and railway sectors will be the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, for which the Estonian railway network will be electrified over the next eight years.
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Monika Lilles
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