Tallinn harbor tram link to start operations at end of 2023 at the earliest

The tram line connecting the Ülemiste district of Tallinn with the Old Town Harbor is set to be up-and-running no earlier than the end of 2023. The project receives €26 million in European Union funds, and is currently being designed.
The tram link is included in the list of investments of the European Recovery Fund (ERF) and €26 million is to be allocated for it, Kristjan Kaunissaare, the coordinator of Rail Baltic, told ERR. The link would see arrivals at the ferry and cruise ship harbor able to take the tram to Ülemiste, which is not only close to Tallinn Airport, where a tram link is already operational, but also the site of the northernmost terminal of the planned Rail Baltic project.
Last summer, the tram line did not fit into the support given to the Rail Baltic general project allocated to the Baltic States. Kaunissaare said that Rail Baltic's money is now being used to finance the design of part of the tram line, and money will be refinanced for the construction.
Kaunissaare said that according to the information received from Tallinn city authroties, the project solution should be completed at the end of this year.
Ain Valdmann, the head of the Tallinn Environment and Public Utilities Board, told ERR that the project should be completed in January 2022. "It will be reviewed, a construction tender will be prepared and it should be operational next year (2022 - ed.)."
Kaunissaare said that the construction of the line is expected to take less than two years.
"If in 2022, the construction can be started with, then 2023 would be a relatively optimistic assessment, but the first half of 2024 would be the completion time that I would offer," Kaunissaare said.
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Editor: Roberta Vaino