Estonia, Good for Business, Railways, Tourism, Transport

"When we initially planned the procurement of trains, and the electrification [of the whole Estonian railway system] hadn't been decided so clearly yet, we planned to obtain hybrid trains that would run on diesel and be capable of operating in the three kilovolt electricity area," Elron CEO Merike Saks.

"Right now we are in negotiations with Estonian Railways on that if they completed the part to Tartu by 2024, electrified it, it actually would make sense for us not to buy relatively more expensive hybrid trains, but to buy dual system electric trains right away," she said.

Saks said that negotiations with the state-owned railway infrastructure company have reached the point where the latter has orally confirmed to Elron that in their view the plan is sensible and they will do their utmost for things to go that way. 

Saks said that if Eesti Raudtee positively states that the railway section between Aegviidu and Tartu will get electric power by 2024, Elron expects to have the trains delivered by then.

The government decided at the end of June that in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a plan for the electrification of railway has to be prepared. Shortly before that the government gave the green light to Elron for the purchase of new trains.