The higher speed was tested on different sections of the railway, between the stations at Liiva and Kiisa, Türi and Võhma, and Võhma and Viljandi, Edelaraudtee said on Monday.

Hannes Taube, Edelaraudtee's head of track service, said after the testing that it is indeed possible to reduce the time travel takes between Tallinn and Viljandi.

Taube said: "It was possible to drive at 140 km/h on all tested sections. The question is however: For how long? Trains accelerate slowly, but on some sections we were able to go [at higher speeds] for rather longer periods."

Taube says he is convinced that Edelaraudtee will eventually make a proposal to Elron to speed up its schedule. "We have even more of these sections, but the carrier will ultimately decide on which sections it is reasonable to implement."

Edelaraudtee AS is a railway infrastructure company which manages a little over 220 kilometers of railways, 11 railway stations and 20 passenger platforms, outside of railway stations themselves. The remander or railtrack responsibility lies with Eesti Raudtee. 

As Estonia has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2030 as a requirement of the EU's climate goals, an extensive railway electrification project is in the works. Among other developments, the state-owned Eesti Raudtee plans to raise the maximum speed of trains on Estonian routes.

--

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!