New Riga rail link boosts Elron's Baltic passenger numbers
More than 19,000 passengers traveled on Elron's Baltic routes in the first half of 2026, as the new Tallinn-Tartu-Riga rail link fueled growing demand.
Over a third of international passengers traveled between Tartu and Riga in the first half of the year, with demand increasing after Elron launched a direct Tallinn-Tartu-Riga connection in January.
"Passenger interest in traveling by train to Latvia and Lithuania, and vice versa, has grown significantly," said Kristo Mäe, head of Elron's international business.
Mäe said the new direct route has increased demand across Elron's international network, with monthly passenger numbers rising from about 2,000 in January to nearly 4,400 in June.
"Interest has also grown in the Tallinn-Tartu-Riga-Vilnius service launched in January 2025," he added.
Last year, over 16,000 passengers bought direct tickets between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the first six months of 2026 alone, meanwhile, Elron's international routes have already carried more than 19,000 passengers, Mäe noted, with another 1,700-plus using the Tallinn-Tartu-Riga direct train for travel within Latvia.
Elron currently operates the direct Tallinn-Tartu-Riga service as well as the Tallinn-Tartu-Valga-Riga-Vilnius route, which requires a transfer in Valga. An additional Tallinn-Tartu-Valga-Riga service runs on weekends.
Tartu was the most popular departure point or destination for Elron's international trips, with 10,825 passengers, followed by Tallinn with 6,347.
The busiest route segment was Tartu-Riga, which accounted for 7,500 passengers, or 38 percent of all passengers on Elron's international routes.
Latvians riding locally
More than 10,000 passengers traveled to and from Valga on routes toward Latvia and Lithuania during the first half of the year, according to data from Elron and Latvian rail operator Vivi.
The direct Tallinn-Tartu-Riga service launched on January 12 accounted for 8,287 international trips during this period.
The most popular segment was Tartu-Riga, which made up 42 percent of journeys, followed by Tallinn-Riga (13 percent), Valga-Riga (9 percent), Tartu-Cesis (nearly 6 percent), Tartu-Valmiera (over 5 percent) and Tartu-Sigulda (4.5 percent).
Since March, Elron has also sold tickets for domestic Latvian journeys on the Tallinn-Tartu-Riga train.
From April through June, more than 1,700 Latvian passengers used the service within Latvia, most commonly traveling between Riga and Cesis (30 percent), Riga and Sigulda (26 percent) or Riga and Valmiera (14.8 percent).
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Aili Vahtla
