Estonia, Railways, Transport

CEO of Estonian Railways (Eesti Raudtee) Kaido Simmermann gave the committee members an overview of the developments in Estonian Railways, including of developments in cargo flow, investments, railroad tariffs and fees in coming years and in the longer-term perspective.

The committee found that the ministry, the Technical Supervisory Board and Estonian Railways need to co-operate more in order to increase the railroad’s capacity, making the current system more flexible and less bureaucratic.

CEO of AS Tallinna Sadam Ain Kaljurand and Andres Viia from the Estonian Institute of Forward Studies introduced a survey of the capacities and growth potential of border crossing points between Estonia and Russia; the survey was compiled foremost in perspective of developing a terminal for Chinese cargo.

The survey indicated that lorries’ possibilities for crossing the border to Russia is an issue that merits very serious attention; the situation on the railroad is slightly better.