Tallinn-Warsaw rail connection under review

TALLINN - Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts stated that on June 8, Estonia will propose restoring the passenger train route between Tallinn and Warsaw on the existing infrastructure, reports National Broadcasting. The proposal will be made during the meeting of European Union ministers of transport.
If the governments of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are interested in co-operation and all parties agree on prompt action, the passenger train can start work in a year at the earliest, stated Parts.

“It will require investments into proper trains that actually exist in Europe,” noted the minister. He estimated that the European Commission could also support the investments.
According to Parts, the investments into the existing infrastructure are not substantial amounts of money. “The problem is rather whether it will pay off,” he noted.

Parts pointed out that several operators of train routes have noted that the route would not pay off at competitive prices, hence government subsidies or grants from the European Commission would be necessary to get the project rolling. “And this is a matter of a political decision,” he added.

'I hope very much that in the light of the European Commissioner Kallas understanding the problem and his statements, we will be able to make our Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish partners believe in this project,” said the minister.