Estonia rail news
All the latest Estonian rail news
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NewsOperail privatisation agreement signed
ESTONIA: The purchase and sale agreement for the privatisation of national rail freight operator Operail was signed by the RailProject OÜ subsidiary of winning bidder Tiigi Keskus on October 31. The government took the decision to privatise the national rail freight transport and rolling stock maintenance ...
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NewsBest offer for Operail privatisation selected
ESTONIA: Final negotiations for the privatisation of national rail freight operator Operail are now underway with Tallinn-based Tiigi Keskus, which submitted the highest bid. Several potential buyers from Estonia and abroad had qualified for the second step of the privatisation process, which began in June when ...
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NewsEstonian cabinet approves Operail privatisation
ESTONIA: The cabinet has approved Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Svet’s proposal for the privatisation of national freight operator Operail to progress to the next stage. The two-stage process began in June, when potential buyers had the opportunity to review an initial information package and submit a ...
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NewsElectric train delivery is a complex task
ESTONIA: The delivery of 16 new electric multiple-units from Škoda’s Ostrava factory to Estonian passenger operator Elron’s depot at Pääsküla is being managed by logistics company EWSA, with transport by road from the Czech Republic to Latvia and then by rail with Operail as transport partner ...
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NewsSale of Estonian national rail freight operator gets underway
ESTONIA: The government has formally launched a two-stage process to privatise national rail freight operator Operail. The public auction approved by the cabinet on June 6 will cover Operail’s entire business, including freight operations, rolling stock repairs, all contracts and the brand name. It is being ...
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Metro Report InternationalTallinn takes delivery of Pesa tram
ESTONIA: Tallinn operator TLT has taken delivery of the first of 23 trams which Pesa Bydgoszcz is supplying under a €52m order placed in 2022. The three-section low-floor tram from the Polish manufacturer’s Twist family has six doors and a capacity of up to 184 passengers, ...
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NewsEstonian rail freight operator prepares for privatisation
ESTONIA: A strategy to privatise national rail freight operator Operail was backed by the cabinet on February 15. The government had instructed Operail to prepare plans for a sale last autumn. ‘Rail transport is a volume business where small quantities and short journeys do not pay ...
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NewsLithuanian rail operator pilots ‘competitive green logistics’ in the three Baltic States
EUROPE: Lithuania’s LTG Cargo has operated a pilot freight train through Latvia to Valga, the first station in Estonia. On February 23 CEO Eglė Šimė said LTG Cargo plans to start offering ‘competitive green logistics services’ in the three countries in the near future, as a ...
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NewsOperail Chairman steps down
ESTONIA: Raul Toomsalu has resigned as Chair of the management board of Operail. A successor is to be appointed once the government confirms its future strategy for the state-owned freight operator. ‘My journey in the railway sector has been long and exciting’, Toomsalu said when he ...
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NewsElron EMU production underway
ESTONIA: Representatives from Elron visited the Škoda Group factory at Ostrava in the Czech Republic to see the assembly of the first of 16 electric multiple-units ordered by the passenger operator. ‘Bringing new trains on to the line from 2025 will gradually solve the shortage of ...
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NewsEstonian rail freight operator seeks new opportunities after war slashes traffic
ESTONIA: State-owned freight operator Operail is developing a comprehensive strategy to restore its profitability, having been hit by a 83% reduction in volumes because of the Russian war against Ukraine. The strategy is expected to be finalised by autumn, and the company says that once its ...
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NewsTallinn safety conference seeks to embed a culture of learning
EUROPE: The third edition of the EU Agency for Railways’ Safety Days conference will take place in Tallinn on September 20-22.
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NewsRail Baltica Academy to provide project insights for all
EUROPE: The Rail Baltica Academy is to hold its third series of online public lectures from May 22, aiming to provide a broad audience including industry professionals, policymakers, students and future users with insights gained from the cross-border standard gauge line project. The lecture programme is ...
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Metro Report InternationalConstruction of Tallinn old harbour tramway extension begins
ESTONIA: Construction work has started on the second phase of the Vanasadam tram extension through the old harbour area of Tallinn. The 2·5 km line linking Linnahall and Paberi stops on the existing network will create a loop through the harbour area and city centre. This ...
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NewsOperail completes disposal of wagon leasing fleet
ESTONIA: National freight operator Operail has completed its exit from the wagon leasing business, with the sale of the final 1 036 vehicles in February and March. More than 40 companies were invited to participate in the sale of the fleet, and 20 opted to make ...
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NewsBaltic States discuss Vilnius – Riga – Tallinn passenger service and gauge conversion
EUROPE: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to explore options to launch a passenger service between their capitals using existing 1 520 mm gauge railways, ahead of the completion of the future Rail Baltica 1 435 mm gauge line. The lack of through services between the Baltic ...
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NewsRail Baltica regional station design contract signed
ESTONIA: National Rail Baltica project implementation body Rail Baltic Estonia has awarded Ardanuy Ingeneria a €368 000 contract to design seven stations for use by regional passenger services on the future 1 435 mm gauge line. The stations at Assaku, Luige, Saku and Kurtna in the ...
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NewsOperail sells more wagons from its lease fleet
ESTONIA: National freight operator Operail has sold a further 807 wagons from its lease fleet for €22·1m as part of a programme of divestment of non-core assets. More than 40 companies were invited to participate and 20 tenders were submitted. After what Operail said was a ...
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NewsElron orders 10 more EMUs
ESTONIA: Passenger operator Elron has awarded Škoda Group a firm order to supply a further 10 electric multiple-units. The order announced by the Czech manufacturer on January 24 has been placed using an option in a 2021 contract for initial six EMUs which are now being ...
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NewsAŽD offers Estonia an alternative to Russian equipment
ESTONIA: Infrastructure manager Eesti Raudtee has awarded AŽD Praha a contract to supply 800 point machines. The large order ‘is very important for AŽD and creates an interesting alternative to existing Russian-made products in the Baltic countries’, said Petr Žatecký, the Czech company’s Director of Foreign ...