Rail Baltic, the Estonian arm of the line planned to link all three Baltic States with Warsaw, Poland, and through it the rest of "continental" Europe, made the announcement on Wednesday that work on the terminal, in Tallinn's Ülemiste district, would be starting in 2021.

Rail Baltic Estonia's CEO Tõnis Grünberg said that Ülemiste's location, close to both Tallinn airport and the city center, will contribute to further development.

A naming competition for the new terminal is also due to take place next year, he said; the projects detailed, spatial plan is at draft stage – a document also on public display, BNS reports.

The work will not halt existing transport links in the area, including the relatively new airport tram extension, main traffic roads such as Tartu mnt and Peterburi tee, and rail services.

While the terminal is due to complete in 2025, the 1,435-mm gauge rail line itself is due to be operational two years before that; the terminal will also accomodaate the 1,520-mm gauge lines currently used in Estonia's rail system, as well as interconnect with both local and long-distance bus routes.

The building's construction will be based on a winning entry from last year's architectural design competitive process, from Zaha Hadid Architects of London, together with Estonian firm Esplan OÜ.

The construction tender itself will be held in June 2021.

Esplan OÜ CEO Kadi Metsmaa said that the terminal's design puts pedestrians and non-motor road uses first, and will have three passenger platforms with multiple access, as well as designs solutions covering the adjacent area, including Peterburi and Suur-Sõjamäe

The railway infrastructure itself will be designed by OÜ Reaal projekt and OÜ AllSpark, with environmental surveys carried out by OÜ Hendrikson & Ko; this work will be completed in the second half of 2021.

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