Rail transport in Estonia

The rail transport system in Estonia consists of circa 1200 km of railway lines, of which 900 km are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is completely privatized and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Railway Inspectorate ( _et. Raudteeinspektsioon).

All railways in Estonia are broad gauge (1520 mm), the same as in Russia, Belarus, Latvia, and Lithuania. The 1520 mm gauge used in Estonia is also compatible with Finland's 1524 mm gauge.

Railways in Estonia today are used mostly for freight transport, but also for passenger traffic. Passenger transport is most frequent near Tallinn, centred on the main Balti jaam.

Network

* Total length: circa 1200 km, of which 958 km in public use [cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/en.html |title=CIA - The World Factbook -- Estonia
date=2007-08-16
accessdate=2007-08-19] .
* Gauge: 1520 mm broad gauge
* Electrified: circa 130 km.

The Estonian railway network is owned by the state-owned company AS Eesti Raudtee and the private company Edelaraudtee Infrastruktuuri AS. These railway network infrastructure operators provide all railway network services for railway operators running freight and passenger services. AS Eesti Raudtee provides approximately 800 km of track, of which 107 km is double track and 133 km is electrified. Edelaraudtee Infrastruktuuri AS maintains 298 km of track which consists of 219 km of main line and 79 km of station line.

Main lines

Owned by AS Eesti Raudtee:
* Tallinn–Tapa–Narva, 209.6 km. This line was completed in 1870. It was originally a part of the railway network of the Russian Empire, connecting Paldiski to St. Petersburg via Tallinn and Narva.
* Tallinn–Keila–Paldiski, 47.7 km.
* Keila–Riisipere, 24.4 km. This line is part of the former Tallinn–Haapsalu line, that was completed in 1905.

* Tapa–Tartu, 112.5 km.
* Tartu–Valga, 82.5 km. International connection from Valga in Estonia to Valka in Latvia.
* Tartu–Pechory, 83.5 km. International connection from Piiroja in Estonia to Pechory in Russia. The line was built between 1929 and 1931.
* Valga–Pechory, 91.5 km. International connection from Piiroja in Estonia to Pechory in Russia.

Owned by Edelaraudtee Infrastruktuuri AS:
* Tallinn–Lelle–Pärnu–Mõisaküla, 190.0 km. International connection has existed from Mõisaküla to Latvia, but there is no connection at the moment. The stretch Pärnu–Mõisaküla is planned to be removed. [cite news |url=http://www.epl.ee/artikkel/393117 |title=Mõisaküla: viimane sõit raudteed pidi Pärnusse |author=Tanel Mazur |publisher=Eesti Päevaleht |date=2007-07-16 |accessdate=2007-08-11 et icon]
* Lelle–Viljandi, 78.7 km. This line connects Viljandi to the Tallinn–Mõisaküla line via Lelle.

Connections to adjacent countries

A daily passenger service connects Tallinn with St. Petersburg and Moscow, operated by the Estonian company GO Rail, both night trains. The travel time is 10 hours to St. Petersburg and 15 hours to Moscow. The connection to St. Petersburg is planned for closing in September 2008. The reason is lower price for bus connections, for example since Russia has half the fuel price of e.g. Finland, and shorter travel time, 5-7 hours. There are also good air connections.

As of summer 2008 three daily trains operated by LDz connects Riga (Latvia) to Valga (Estonia). The other railway lines to neighbouring countries are not used for direct passenger traffic at the moment. It is possible to travel between Tallinn and Riga over Tartu-Valga with train changes, but this takes long time, and bus (travel time about 5 hours) or air is better.

Historic lines are Tallinn-Moscow via Tartu-Pechory, and Riga-St. Petersburg, which passed through Estonia from Valka, Latvia to Valga, Estonia - Võru - Piusa - Pechory, Russia. Both were closed in the 1990'ies.

There are plans of a new high-speed line Tallinn-Riga (continued to Poland), but there is no decision when to build it.

Operators

Freight trains are operated by Eesti Raudtee. Passenger services are offered by three operators:
* Edelaraudtee
* Elektriraudtee
* GO Rail

ee also

* Rail transport by country

References

External links

* [http://www.rinsp.ee/atp/?lang=en Estonian Railway Inspectorate] — Web pages containing various statistical information about the railway network and operations in Estonia.
* [http://www.jaam.ee/index.php?lk=32&setlng=12 Estonian Railway Museum in Haapsalu (history page)] et icon
* [http://www.gorail.ee/?lang=ru Estonian private Railway Company "GoRail" official website] ru icon/et icon
*http://www.terradaily.com/2004/040822030207.mfpx57sq.html - Estonia: End of the line for Europe's passenger rail network