The Estonian government approved the railway infrastructure funding action plan for 2019-2024, according to which EUR 431 million is to be invested in the existing railway network.
According to Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson, the action plan provides certainty for the future for railway managers, carriers as well as passengers, government spokespeople said.
“Our goal is not just to maintain the quality of today’s infrastructure, but every year we should take a step further toward improvement,” the minister said. “On one hand, it is important to raise the speed for passenger trains, on the other, make railway crossings safer for both cars and pedestrians,” Simson added.
More significant investments include raising the speed of the Tallinn-Tartu and Tapa-Narva railway and building the Riisipere-Turba railway, which have already received the funding decision. “The construction of the Riisipere-Turba railway section is underway already today and if the section in question proves itself, we must also deliberate extending the railway,” Simson said.
The plan of investments also entails major repairs of the West-Harju routes, updates to the traffic control systems, reconstruction of the plant for transforming and carrying electric power for train haulage, repairs of 30 railway crossings, the reconstruction of the Lelle-Turi railway section, updates to communications and security systems, reconstruction of the Rapla-Lelle railway, repairs to the Liiva, Kiisa and Kohila stations and the reconstruction of the Tallinn-Vaike-Liiva railway.
In addition, the action plan also highlights projects aimed toward the future but currently either without funding or a funding decision, like increasing the railway infrastructure capacity of the Tallinn-Rapla section, renovation and opening to train traffic of the Turba-Haapsalu-Rohukula railway, Tallinn ring railway, Valga-Koidula railway, the electrification of the railway network and raising the speeds of the Tallinn-Tartu and Tallinn-Narva railway sections to up to 160 km/h.
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