After the electrification and reconstruction of the Tallinn-Tartu railway section, new electric trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour will begin operating on the line. Elron has set a goal of completing the trip from Tallinn's Ülemiste station to the Tartu railway station in 90 minutes with the new trains.

Elron has ordered 16 new electric trains from Škoda — 11 of which are long-distance trains and five designed for commuter service.

The commuter trains will have 262 seats and space for 18 bicycles. The long-distance trains will have 236 seats, 15 bike spaces, a catering area and numbered seating.

The new long-distance trains are expected to begin operating on the Tallinn-Tartu line once infrastructure owner Estonian Railways completes electrification of the entire Tapa-Tartu section. The commuter trains will be introduced once testing is complete.

Kristo Mäe, Elron's head of communications, told ERR that ten new trains have already arrived in Estonia — nine long-distance trains and one commuter train. The commuter train is intended for regional lines such as Tallinn-Aegviidu, Tallinn-Paldiski and Tallinn-Kloogaranna.

The first of the new trains arrived in Estonia last summer and is currently undergoing testing.

"Since we're introducing a completely new type of train to this infrastructure, extensive type testing is required," Mäe said. "Each train is driven for thousands of kilometers, undergoing an average of 70 different tests. Only then can the train be certified to operate on Estonia's railways. That process is currently underway and we've already carried out quite a large number of tests."

The launch of the new long-distance trains depends on the completion of infrastructure work.

Andrus Alas, head of Estonian Railways' electrical network department, said that electrification of the Aegviidu-Tapa-Tartu section should be completed by the end of this year.

"As of today, we can say that most of the work on that section is well underway — most of the foundations and masts are in place. There are still a few areas between Jõgeva and Tartu where, due to major railway renovation works, some tasks remain," Alas said.

"Things have actually gone quite well," he added. "From the perspective of the overhead contact line, we're nearing the finish line. There's still a traction substation that needs to be completed in Jõgeva, so there's a bit left to do, but we expect to finish work on the contact line within the year."

"Our current plan is still to complete the contact line work by the end of summer," Alas said. "But there may be impacts from other parallel projects happening on the railway at the same time, and it's hard to predict what those impacts might be at this point."

According to the original schedule, Elron's new trains were supposed to start service at the beginning of this year, but last year the rollout was postponed to September 2025.

"I really can't guarantee that all the work will be completed by then," Alas said, referring to the possibility of the new trains entering service in September.

The section between Tallinn and Aegviidu is also slated for upgrades by the end of the year.

"Electric trains have already operated between Tallinn and Aegviidu," Alas said. "But the overhead contact system there is so old — it dates back to the early 1980s — that major reconstruction is now underway. We're dismantling the old system and building a new one in its place."

When asked whether the Tallinn-Tartu section will be electrified by year's end, Alas replied, "I certainly hope so. There are a number of factors that make it difficult to give a precise estimate at this point, but the goal is still to finish the work this year."

Buses to replace trains on Tallinn-Tartu line Tuesdays and Wednesdays until June

Due to the electrification and reconstruction of the railway between Tapa and Tartu, replacement buses will transport passengers between Tamsalu/Jõgeva and Tartu on six Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the first week of June, Elron announced. The schedule changes will also affect service on the Valga and Koidula routes.

The scheduled maintenance days between Jõgeva and Tartu are: April 22-23, May 6-7, May 13-14, May 20-21, May 27-28 and June 3-4.

During these service disruptions, Elron will reduce the price of standard class full-fare tickets on the Tallinn-Tartu line. Tickets purchased online will cost €9, with discounted fares set at €7. Currently, online ticket prices range from €13.50 to €15.90, according to Elron.

Replacement buses also operated on parts of the Tallinn-Tartu line last year due to similar maintenance work.

The disruptions contributed to a 16 percent drop in passenger numbers on southbound routes.

"Based on last year's experience, the reconstruction and electrification of the Tapa-Tartu rail section have had a significant impact. While overall train ridership in Estonia grew in 2024 — for example, by 11 percent in the western direction — ridership on southern routes declined by 16 percent," said Elron spokesperson Kristo Mäe. However, he emphasized that these are the most extensive upgrades the line has seen in decades and are necessary to introduce new electric trains that will make travel faster and more comfortable.

Electrification work should be completed on Tapa-Narva line by middle of 2027

Construction is also underway on the Tapa-Narva line to electrify that section of the railway.

"We signed the contract at the beginning of the year, and we've now started designing the new overhead contact system section by section. The first foundations are already in place. The plan is to complete the contact line work by mid-2027. At this point, there's no reason to think we won't meet that deadline — everything is going fairly smoothly and the contractor is working quickly," said Andrus Alas, head of the electrical network department at Estonian Railways.

Initially, the electrification plan also included the lines from Tartu toward Valga and Koidula, but those plans were shelved due to rising costs.

"When we began preparing the overall electrification project back in 2018, it included plans to electrify the Valga and Koidula directions as well. But at some point, we had to revise those plans. Various events — such as the war in Ukraine and other circumstances — have significantly impacted input costs. In collaboration with the state, we made the decision to divide the project into two stages," Alas explained.

"We're now working on the first stage. That part is fully funded and includes the Narva and Tartu routes. Unfortunately, Valga and Koidula were left out of the first stage."

Alas noted that the state has proposed using alternative technologies, such as battery-powered trains, for the Valga and Koidula routes. "But it's important to say that no firm decisions have been made yet. It may be too early to say what the final solution for those routes will be. For now, they are not included in this phase of the electrification project."

The electrification of railway sections from Tallinn to Tartu and from Tapa to Narva is expected to cost around €300 million. Eighty-five percent of the funding will come from the European Union, with the remaining 15 percent covered by the Estonian state budget.

Once completed, the amount of electrified railway infrastructure in Estonia will grow from 237 kilometers to over 700 kilometers.

The railway electrification initiative is part of the European Union's broader climate goals.

Passenger rail operator Elron is investing a total of €146.8 million in expanding its train fleet between 2024 and 2026. The purchase of the new trains is being financed through CO2 quota revenues and the EU's Modernization Fund.

The trains are being manufactured at a factory in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Once completed, they are transported by truck to Riga, where the bogies are installed and the trains are finalized.

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