New electric trains to start running on Estonia's Tartu line in February

Travel between Estonia's capital Tallinn and the university city of Tartu is set to take under two hours again, as infrastructure work on the railway line is due to wrap up in mid-January. Passenger operator Elron plans to put its new Škoda electric trains into service on the route in February, a change that affects riders on one of the country's key intercity rail links.

Disruption to continue for now

Passengers will still face disruption until mid-January. In November, journeys on the Tartu line will remain as long as two and a half hours, before times begin to fall in December. By mid-January the trip will take 1 hour 55 minutes, and from summer 2027 the fastest trains will cover the route in 1 hour 45 minutes.

Merle Kurvits, chair of the management board of Eesti Raudtee, the Estonian railway infrastructure company, said the final work needed to introduce the new traffic control system is in its last stage. The most intensive work will take place in November on an active line, so passengers should check timetables closely. The railway will not be closed during construction, since that would remove an important transport option and push freight onto roads. Timetable changes are expected to be measured in minutes rather than hours.

Infrastructure Minister Kuldar Leis said that, after meeting Siemens representatives, he was told the construction schedule would allow the new electric trains to start running in February. He added that the trains would let existing diesel units be moved to other routes, increasing service frequency elsewhere in Estonia.

Narva line also being upgraded

Work is also continuing on the Narva line, where the journey will drop in November from the current two and a half hours to two hours and seven minutes. From January 2027 travelling from Tallinn to Narva will take under two hours, and from June it will fall to 1 hour 50 minutes.

The EU-funded upgrades to infrastructure, signalling and safety systems are being carried out by a consortium of Siemens Mobility Oy and GRK Rail Oy under a contract signed in November 2020. The Tapa–Tartu section is part of that agreement.