Estonia Embarks on Ambitious Rail Baltica Mainline Construction in 2024

The construction works for the initial sections of the Rail Baltica railway mainline in Estonia will commence in the spring of 2024. At the end of the year, Rail Baltic Estonia announced tenders for the construction of the underlying infrastructure and intersections for the 52.6 kilometers of the mainline.

Together with upcoming contract sections, construction activities are expected to take place on 74 kilometers of the Rail Baltica Estonian route within a year, constituting over a third of the entire length of the Estonian mainline. In Harju County, the railway construction will extend from the Ülemiste terminal to the county border.

“The construction of the Rail Baltica mainline is undoubtedly a priority for us in 2024 and the following years. One year from now, we aim to see active railway infrastructure construction on more than a third of the Estonian part of the future high-speed railway. This will allow us to stay on schedule to commence rail traffic in 2030,” said Anvar Salomets, the Chief Executive Officer of Rail Baltic Estonia.

According to Salomets, the recently announced tenders for the mainline construction are likely to be the last handled as short segments. “We are changing the tender strategy for the remaining railway infrastructure and superstructure, and currently, we are also looking for a consultant to proceed with the so-called alliance model,” explained Salomets.

On December 29th, tenders were announced for the construction of five mainline sections in Harju and Rapla counties: Soodevahe – Kangru; Kangru – Saku; Saku – Harju/Rapla county border; Hagudi – Alu; Alu – Kärpla. Over 20 railway intersections have already been completed or are under construction on these sections.

The estimated total cost of the published tenders is approximately 400 million euros. The length of the construction contract varies between 40-48 months depending on the section.

 

Source: Rail Baltica