Planned railway to divert freight traffic past Tallinn in future

TALLINN - According to the plan for a Tallinn circular railway, in the future freight traffic to Paldiski from Tallinn's city center and the Rail Baltic international passenger terminal at Ulemiste will be diverted via the new railway line, and public transport connections in that direction will be upgraded. 

Minister of Public Administration Jaak Aab, who on Thursday presented to the government an analysis and proposals for the initiation of a national designated spatial plan for the Tallinn circular railway, said that the purpose of the proposed structure is a public railway, which means that it will not only serve freight flows, but will also allow passenger services.

"The circular railway will expand the mobility options of residents of Harju County, as it will create a new public transport connection along the Lagedi-Ulemiste-Paldiski route," the minister said according to spokespeople. "The circular railway also will comprehensively facilitate mobility along the Tapa-Tallinn-Paldiski route."

The estimated cost of the national designated spatial plan and preliminary design for the circular  railway is over 3.37 million euros, and the Association of Municipalities of Harju County, municipalities and business operators see the need to establish such railway.

The bulk of the cost is to be financed from the state budget, but in addition to the state and municipalities, several private transport, logistics and other companies have shown interest in this important project, said Vaino Toemets, head of the department for regional administration at the Ministry of Finance.

"Funding is still under negotiation and exact contributions from interested parties should be known by the end of this year," Toemets said.

The possible variants of the corridors of the Tallinn circular railway are shown in the Harju County Plan 2030+. The designated spatial plan seeks to identify the most suitable corridor. The entire process from planning to design will take an estimated seven years, meaning until 2028.

The preparation of an analysis and proposals for the initiation of a national designated spatial plan for a Tallinn circular railway are an item listed in the government's action plan for 2021.