Tallinn–Tartu railway work postponed yet again
Major construction on the Tartu line is nearly finished, but new traffic control systems in Tapa Station face delays, extending the timetable by another week.
"Regrettably, our contract partner Siemens Mobility OY has informed us that they will not complete their work on time. Preparing the safety-related documentation will take longer, as the contractor is for the first time documenting the interoperability of Siemens technology with the rail circuit technology supplied by their Ukrainian subcontractor," said Estonian Railways CEO Kaido Zimmermann.
Zimmermann also announced at the end of August that Estonian Railways had completed major construction work on the Tartu line, but activating the new traffic control systems at Tapa Station had been postponed by three weeks. This meant that the existing train schedule, under which travel on the Tallinn-Tartu line takes nearly three hours, was to remain in effect until September 19. It has now been confirmed that the schedule will be extended for another week.
According to him, the best way to ensure safe rail traffic for now is to continue with the current timetable until the contractor can guarantee that the work is finished. Only then can Estonian Railways activate the new traffic control system at Tapa Station, which will allow train speeds to be increased.
Estonian Railways apologized to rail users for the situation and asked passengers to follow Elron's website, where up-to-date information on valid timetables and any potential changes is available.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Marcus Turovski
