Elron announced that maintenance work on the Tapa-Tartu railway section will occur until April 25, resulting in changes to the schedules of the Tallinn-Tartu, Tallinn-Tartu-Valga, Tartu-Valga, Tartu-Koidula and Jõgeva-Tartu lines. On April Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, passengers between Tapa and Kiltsi stations will be served by replacement buses.

In addition, the departure and arrival times of trains will change, and the travel time between Tallinn and Tartu will increase by up to 19 minutes.

However, the restrictions are not only for April, as the work on this section will continue until the end of the year. The goal is to electrify the section during this time, allowing Elron to start operating new Škoda electric trains there at the beginning of next year.

"Work will definitely strongly affect the Tapa-Tartu intercity rail traffic this year," said Elron's spokesperson, Kristo Mäe.

Mäe could not provide specific information about the schedule of maintenance works and the need for replacement buses after April. Riho Vjatkin, head of the construction service at Estonian Railways (Eesti Raudtee), told ERR that given the extensive nature of the work, there is no option but to use full closures in sections.

"Periodic closures will start from April as the straightened curves are gradually connected to the existing track. Technologically, this requires a longer-term railway closure; unfortunately, there's no other way to perform these works," he said.

Throughout the year, the plan is to construct and connect all the curves requiring straightening on the Tapa-Tartu line to the existing track, Vjatkin added.

Rail section to be electrified for new trains, speeds should go up

In addition to the electrification of the Tartu line, Vjatkin mentioned that the railway and infrastructure will be rebuilt and traffic management and safety systems updated, allowing Elron to operate new electric trains between Tallinn and Tartu next year.

Mäe stated that the first six new Škoda electric trains will start serving the Tallinn-Tartu line after the completion of repair and electrification works. "We have planned that the new long-distance trains will start operating at the beginning of 2025," he added.

The new long-distance train with three carriages will have a total of 236 seats, including 32 first-class seats. There will be space for 15 bicycles. Currently, a four-carriage Stadler Flirt train has 214 seats and space for ten bicycles, Mäe mentioned.

All new trains will be introduced next year and the year after. In total, there will be 16, out of which 11 are long-distance trains and five are regional trains that will serve suburban lines.

After the repair works, the speed of trains between Tallinn and Tartu is expected to increase and the travel time to decrease. "Elron's ultimate goal is to achieve a travel time of one hour and 30 minutes between Tartu and Ülemiste. Much depends on when the infrastructure owner (Estonian Railways) can facilitate higher speeds. Elron's trains can travel up to 160 kilometers per hour," Mäe said.

Vjatkin confirmed that once the repair works are completed, it will be possible to increase the speed to up to 160 kilometers per hour.

This year, Estonian Railways aims to straighten all the designated railway curves and build facilities on the Tapa-Tartu line. The work will cover a total of 37 kilometers. Next, the Tapa-Narva and Tartu-Valga directions will be tackled.

"All these works create a precondition for the increase in speeds of passenger trains on the railway in the near future," Vjatkin said.

Several culverts will also be reconstructed between Tapa and Tartu, one bridge will be built and tunnels will be constructed in the areas of the Põdrangu crossing and the Ausi and Kaarepere crossings. Vägeva, Pedja and Kaarepere platforms will also be rebuilt.

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