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 in Estonia.
‘It was clear from the outset that this was going to be one our most complex and significant projects in Estonia’, EWSA CEO Vassili Zavoronkov said in June. ‘During discussions with the manufacturer, the task revealed itself to be even more complex than anticipated.’
The 1 520 mm gauge EMUs are not yet able to operate under their own power, but also cannot be loaded onto wagons. ‘The train’s air brake system and electronics are new, untested and unused, and they must reach the buyer in this original state’, said Zavoronkov.
Special adapters are used to couple the EMU’s Scharfenberg-type automatic coupler to the diesel locomotive’s SA-3, and five empty wagons provide braking force.
Deliveries are scheduled to continue until 2026.
