The tunnels planned beneath the railway embankment at Endla tänav are part of a redesigned solution for the Kristiine traffic junction that the city began developing last year.

Tallinn signed a construction contract with OÜ Infra in 2025. The project will also be partly financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said the current snag is passenger rail operator Elron's refusal to accept the originally proposed construction stages, which would require temporarily halting rail traffic.

"We're seeking solutions together with Elron, although Elron was already involved when the project was drafted," Järvan said, adding that windows of time for construction had already been reserved with Estonian Railways.

Ministry: City changed track

Sander Salmu, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Climate, said the disagreement arose after the city changed the procurement terms.

He said the original plan envisioned a so-called closed method of construction, but Tallinn later later allowed contractors to also propose open-method construction, which would require the temporary suspension of train traffic over the site.

Stopping trains at the Endla tänav overpass would also cut off access to Elron's maintenance depot, which is why the rail operator favors the closed construction method.

Elron management board member Märt Ehrenpreis pointed to a similar project in Estonia's second-largest city.

"In Tartu, pedestrian tunnels were built the same way," he said. "They were bored under the railway using a closed method."

Ehrenpreis noted that the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) has already issued the necessary construction permit for the project based on that approach. The change in plans, he added, came as a surprise.  

Under the signed contracts, upgrades to the Endla tänav railway embankment are due to be completed by 2029.

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