As the northernmost of the Baltic countries, Estonia will be the starting point of Rail Baltica. Moreover, the only seaport connected to the future line will be Muuga, and there are plans to build at least two more terminals, which makes the section all the more important for rail freight. With half of the line now under construction, it is a good time to assess the situation and dive deeper into the role of rail freight.
Rail Baltica in Estonia will run for 213 kilometres in total, with construction progressing according to the timeline, according to Priit Pruul from Rail Baltica Estonia. Presently, 107 kilometres of the section are under construction. Then, “around 95 kilometres have, in some sections, already gone through designs and preliminary works that create preconditions to full scale construction have started”, he explained.
Turning construction sites into terminals
The last 10 kilometres, connecting the main line to the rail freight terminal at the port of Muuga, are “currently going through technical design, and construction procurement will be announced this year or early next year”, Pruul said. The facility, which will be the main Rail Baltica freight location in Estonia, should enter construction phase in 2027, he added. However, Muuga will not be the only rail freight hub for the Rail Baltica section in the country.
For example, there are plans to turn two locations currently used as warehouses for construction materials into a dry port and a rail freight terminal. The former would be in Soodevahe, just east of the Tallinn Airport, while the latter would be in Pärnu, on Estonia’s southwestern coast. “The rough estimate predicts that, on the Estonian section, around three or four million tons of goods will be transported on Rail Baltica in the first 10-15 years”, Pruul specified.
The money question
One of the main problems often highlighted in the context of Rail Baltica is funding. Costs have sensibly risen, with some projects being downsized, especially in Latvia, and deadlines being extended. Up until now, Estonia secured a little over half of what it needs for the first phase of the project.
More specifically, between state funds and money from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), 1.7 of the 3.1 million euros are available. “We are hopeful that the European Commission’s proposal for CEF in the next MFF will largely hold up, this definitely gives confidence that there will be resources to complete the connection between the Baltic states and Central Europe faster”, Pruul pointed out.