If the state allocates EU funds for the project, the design of a new public transport stop in front of the Kristiine Keskus shopping mall, in the direction going out from the city center, can also begin. In the longer term, discussions are set to continue with the government on, among other issues, how to bring the train stop closer to the intersection.

In the coming years, Tallinn will continue to develop and expand the Kristiine junction, which is one of the city's most important transport hubs. As a first step, the city plans to launch a call for tenders this spring to build underpasses for pedestrians and cyclists on both sides of the road underneath the Endla viaduct.

The designs for the light traffic tunnels have already been prepared. Toomas Haidak, deputy head of the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department, said the cost of one tunnel is somewhere between €2 million and €3 million. The total cost of the two tunnels will therefore be around €5 million.

Tallinn Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet (Center), said that the city would wait to see whether the Ministry of Climate allocates EU funds for the development of the Kristiine hub before launching a call for tenders for the construction of the cycle tunnels.

In fact, Tallinn has submitted a request to the Ministry of Climate for the use of EU funds to support the construction of both the light rail tunnels and additional public transport stop, which can be used to develop sustainable mobility in the city.

According to Sander Salm, deputy secretary general for mobility at the Ministry of Climate, €8 million has been earmarked for Tallinn and Tartu. This could be used to finance the creation of a public transport hub for instance, including transfers between multiple modes of transport and the concentration of different transportation options in a single location.

"We hope that a final decision will be taken in April or somewhere around mid-spring," said Svet.

The grant will be distributed under a ministerial decree. Seventy percent of the funding would come from the European Union and 30 percent from the city.

Ministry to make funding decision in mid-spring

Sander Salm said that whether the state allocates the money the city needs for the project is yet to be decided as project evaluations are still in progress.

"The evaluation of the projects in Tallinn is still ahead. The eligibility of the project will depend on that," he said. Salm added that a team had been established to assess the projects, including mobility and accessibility experts.

Vladimir Svet said that if all goes well and the call for tenders is announced in the spring, construction of the tunnels ought to start in the full. The construction of the light rail tunnels should not have too much impact on traffic, Svet said.

"The construction of the light traffic tunnel on Paldiski maantee will also start this year. There, we found a solution that will basically not affect regular city traffic. It will also have a minimal impact on rail traffic. We will try to do the same with the Endla viaduct," said Svet.

The deputy mayor said that if the state does not allocate EU funds, the city will still have enough resources to build at least one light traffic tunnel itself.

"If the ministry decides not to support it, then we will be faced, first of all, with the question of how to proceed with the Kristiine junction. But my position from the start is, that we will build the tunnels one way or another. From a construction point of view, it would be easier and cheaper to build two tunnels at the same time, as it requires quite specific skills and techniques," said Svet.

Toomas Haidak, deputy head of the Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department,, explained that light traffic tunnels should be built on both sides of the carriageway.

"The easiest parallel to imagine is what was done in Tartu at the Riia maantee railway viaduct. That is, there are separate passages, away from the existing opening, which are also large enough and architecturally attractive enough not to look like a claustrophobic tunnel, but to have normal pathways for pedestrians and cyclists," he explained.

City plans to build additional public transport stop with EU funds

In addition to the cycle tunnels, Tallinn is also applying for funding from the same EU support measure to build an additional public transport stop in front of the Kristiine Keskus, in the direction moving away from the city. The stop would be connected to both pedestrian and light traffic routes, bringing several public transport stops closer together and making transfers easier.

"Currently, there is only one public transport stop going in one direction, from Kristiine Keskus towards the city. On the way out of the city, there is a stop on Koskla tänav and at the Circle K gas station. There is no stop directly in front of Kristiine Keskus on the other side of the road. There is also poor access to the railway station. The idea is to introduce a stop in front of Kristiine Keskus in the outbound direction and to make the railway station more accessible, as well as to connect all of them with light traffic routes. The whole process of transferring from one mode of public transport to another will become more logical and convenient," said Haidak.

While the light rail tunnel designs are ready, the city is also not so far away from building a public transport hub. If the government does give the go ahead to use EU funds, Svet, said, only then can the design work begin.

"We have two potential solutions in principle, the one we go with in the end will be determined during the design process," Svet said.

Toomas Haidak said the city estimates the tunnels and public transport stop should cost less than €10 million in total.

The deputy mayor said that the creation of the public transport stop would also require some modifications to Endla tänav in order to make it more convenient for pedestrians.

The long-term plan is to bring the train stop closer to the Kristiine junction.

Svet said that in the long term, discussions are also ongoing regarding how to bring the train stop closer to the Kristiine junction, as well as how to connect the hub to the planned Liivalaia tram line. Ultimately, the aim is to create a large public transport hub, where passengers can transfer between buses, trolleybuses, trains, trams as well as regional lines.

ERR has previously reported on how linking train and urban transport at the Kristiine hub would also significantly increase the number of rail passengers.

According to Svet, the developments at the Kristiine intersection would cost tens of millions of euros, which has not currently been accounted for in either the city's budget strategy or in any national financing plans. He said that a more comprehensive development of the Kristiine public transport hub would be postponed until the next EU budgeting period.

"In addition to the usual modifications, this would involve two extremely complex tasks in terms of the structural engineering. On the one hand, the train stop would have to be moved closer to the Kristiine intersection, perhaps even onto a viaduct. This would perhaps necessitate widening the entire viaduct. The second challenge is that we would need to bring trams through the viaduct, which means either building the viaduct higher or the tramway lower," Svet explained.

Svet said that discussions have already begun with the Ministry of Climate on the construction of the Kristiine Keskus hub. Sander Salm, deputy secretary general for mobility at the Ministry of Climate Sander Salm, also said he had exchanged views with Svet on the issue.

"Tallinn's vision was to convene a working group at a higher level, put together under the leadership of the deputy mayor or mayor, as well as at the level of vice-mayors from the ministries, and start to implement that step by step," Salm said.

Salm explained that the first step ought to be to finalize a draft design of how the hub might look in general.

"It's not a question of moving the railway there, but also a shopping mall, which has its own interests. There are also the interests of Tallinn and how they see the tramline development. There are a lot of issues, but you have to start somewhere," Salm said.

Salm said that the Kristiine hub is one of the spots in Estonia, which the government sees as having the most potential to encourage increased use of public transport.

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