Märt Ehrenpreis, a member of Elron's management board, said the collision on November 27 was one of the most serious traffic accidents for the company this year.

Repairing the damaged train will take place at the manufacturer's facility and will take at least a year. Elron has no replacement train to put into service.

"All of Elron's trains are either in operation or undergoing regular maintenance, and there is no reserve in the current situation. Any disruption with the trains is difficult for us," Ehrenpreis said.

Elron has 20 diesel trains: six with four cars, eight with three cars, and six with two cars.

Until now, schedules have mostly been adjusted due to infrastructure work on the Tallinn–Tartu and Tallinn–Narva routes, but the new schedule will also need to take into account the loss of one diesel train.

Ehrenpreis said the absence of one three-car diesel train makes it more difficult to serve passengers.

"We are trying to address the situation in part by gradually introducing new Škoda trains into service, which will be able to run eastward to Tapa. That might help alleviate occasional overcrowding on the Tallinn–Tartu route somewhat," he added.

Replacement bus is a last resort

Replacing the missing train with a bus is a last resort for Elron, as buses are slower and more cramped for passengers.

"In the case of bus replacements, we also stop at all the same stations, but it simply takes more time because the route covered by bus is longer than by rail," Ehrenpreis said.

The damaged train also cannot be replaced with the newly arrived Škoda electric trains, since they only operate on electrified lines.

Electric trains can currently run on the Tallinn–Keila, Tallinn–Kloogaranna, Tallinn–Paldiski, Tallinn–Turba, and Tallinn–Aegviidu lines. "Starting January 5, we plan to extend some Tallinn–Aegviidu routes to Tapa and to move as many residents in the Tapa area as possible from diesel trains (as currently Tapa is served only by diesel trains) to the new Škoda electric trains," Ehrenpreis said.

So far, 14 of the 16 new Škoda electric trains have arrived in Estonia. If the rail infrastructure were ready, the company could deploy the new trains on the Tallinn–Tartu line.

The accident also complicated the launch of the Tartu–Riga line, Ehrenpreis added.

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