50 pct of land needed for Rail Baltic already in state ownership

  • 2023-05-25
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - At its sitting on Thursday, the government received a report on the current situation of the Estonian part of the Rail Baltic railway and key activities of 2022, according to which over 400 land plots, or around 50 percent of the land needed for constructing the railway, are already in state ownership.

Based on the Rail Baltic interim report, the planned completion time of the project in Estonia is 2030 at the latest, which is in accordance with the Europe-wide transport network regulation, government spokespeople said.

In 2022, a total of six viaducts and ecoducts were completed in Harju and Rapla counties and works continued on the construction of nine more viaducts or ecoducts in Harju, Rapla and Parnu counties. Work began on the design and detailed planning of local stops, and procurements were announced for the construction of two sections in the main corridor and for the establishment of the Ulemiste passenger terminal.

Over 100 million euros was allocated to Estonia from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for further activities relating to Rail Baltic, which supports the growing number of parts of the project that are reaching construction stage.

This year, the construction and design works of the objects and sections in the main corridor, which began in 2022, will continue, and construction works will start in the areas of the Ulemiste and Parnu passenger terminals. This year's schedule also includes the detailed planning of the Ulemiste rolling stock depot and the Parnu cargo terminal and planning of the constructions works. Preliminary projects will be completed for local stops in Harju and Parnu counties and two more applications will be submitted to CEF for funding Rail Baltic.

Based on a survey conducted in April 2022, 69 percent of Estonian people support the Rail Baltic project and 72 percent perceive its impact as positive.