The planning and design work will start from the stops located in Rapla County, the company said in a press release on Wednesday.

One of the objectives of the procurement is to find the main contractor that will be tasked with providing standard designs for three different modular station buildings and crossings between platforms, which could also be used at other Rail Baltic local stops across Estonia.

The second task for the tenderer is to prepare the detailed spatial plans for the stops of Rail Baltic in Kohila, Rapla and Järvakandi and offer their comprehensive designs up to the point of application for building permits. In subsequent procurements concerning local stops, it is planned to carry out the same procedure for stops in Harju County and Pärnu County, but without the portion concerning the comprehensive design of the building.

Considering differences in population numbers and the potential number of passengers, three architectural design solutions have been prepared for the local stops of Rail Baltic. The three options differ in size, nature and price. The standard solution comes with a passenger platform with signs, screens and safety barriers, access roads and vehicle parking areas.

"We wish to start building Rail Baltic local stops in Rapla County in 2024, and this procurement creates strong prerequisites for this," Tõnu Grünberg, CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia, said.

According to Grünberg, it makes sense to schedule the completion of the stops for a time just before the start of the operation on the railway in order to prevent the stops from being empty for a long time. He added that there are also works that it makes sense to perform simultaneously with the construction of the main track, such as the construction of the base structures of platforms.

The winner of the procurement is expected to be announced in July. Works to design the railway structures, buildings and crossings, which do not require a detailed spatial plan, are expected to start as soon as the agreement is signed. When it comes to everything else, design work will start after the detailed spatial planning procedure, during which also local residents will be invited to express their views and opinions concerning local stops, has been completed.

"I hope that in the planning and designing of the stops of Rapla County we will find the best solutions and knowledge, in cooperation with local people, that we can also apply when designing the remaining regional stops," Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas (Center) said.

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