The CEO of Operail, Merle Kurvits, has responded to media attention for Operail Finland’s sale. Estonian media recently said Operail Finland’s sale was a 12 million euro “gift” to the Finnish rail industry. Kurvits refutes the accusations of underselling, saying that Operail sold the subsidiary at a fair price. Operail sold its subsidiary Operail Finland…
Category: Estonia
Operail Finland sale was 12 million euro “gift” to Finnish business
Estonia lost 12,3 million euros with the sale of the Finnish branch of Operail. Last year, it sold Operail Finland, the former name of the subsidiary, to Nurminen Logistics. Estonia sold the subsidiary at a price below its fair value, leading to allegations of a secret sale. As part of the privatisation of Operail, Estonia…
Latvian petition against manganese ore export to Russia gaining momentum
A petition to ban the export of manganese ore to Russia is picking up the pace in Latvia. The public initiative gathered a third of the required signatures for a parliamentary debate in a single week. The Latvian rail sector has suffered from sanctions on Russia, but public opinion is heavily in favour of them.…
Rail Baltica will not pass through all of Riga before 2030 deadline
Rail Baltica will not pass through all of Riga before 2030. Latvia is missing three billion euros for the completion of the line through its capital city. The city has been a major obstacle for the construction of the line, and the entire project risks losing one billion euros in EU funding if not completed…
100 Years Since Its First Flight: These Are Finnair’s Top Routes Today
Funnily enough, that carrier’s first route is its joint most-served route today.
LTG Cargo launches first cross-Baltic service
Lithuanian state-owned rail freight operator, LTG Cargo, recently started transporting petroleum products between Bugeniai, in Luthiania, and Valga, in Estonia. The initiative is another reflection of how operators in the Baltic are looking to diversify their operations due to loss of cargo to and from Russia and Belarus. The launch of operations was preceded by […]
Latvia bans agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus
Latvia has banned agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus. The Baltic country is the first EU country to go as far as to introduce a total ban on Russian agricultural products. The ban will last until 2025 at the very least. Russia’s neighbouring Baltic country was one of the biggest importers of Russian grain in […]
Rail Baltica Estonia signs new contracts, optimistic about progress
Rail Baltica Estonia has signed new construction contracts for a part of the Rail Baltica mainline in the northernmost Baltic country. According to the project’s organisation, the newly signed contracts covering 16 kilometres of its Estonian section are a ‘significant milestone’. The organisation also expresses optimistism about the construction progress of the rail line. The […]
LTG Cargo runs first cross-Baltic cargo train pilot
Lithuanian rail operator LTG Cargo has run its first continuous pilot train across all Baltic countries. It is the company’s first independently run cargo train traversing all three Baltic states. As Baltic rail operators have faced financial difficulties due to a loss of freight from and to Russia and Belarus, they seek to diversify their […]
Estonian Operail announces full privatisation in order to save itself
Estonian national rail operator Operail has announced a new business strategy that involves full privatisation. The privatisation is a necessary step to find additional financial sources. According to the company, privatisation will also enable the expansion of operations into foreign markets. Operail has been struggling financially after the implementation of sanctions against Russia and Belarus. […]