First Rail Baltica waiting platform to be finished in Kurtna this year
Construction of platforms at local train stations along the Rail Baltica route has begun, with the first platform set to be completed in Kurtna this year.
The first local Rail Baltica station will be built in Kurtna this year, although train services are not expected to begin for another six years.
"The platform will be 115 meters long. We will also have 210-meter platforms to accommodate both international passenger trains and Elron's local regional trains," said Lauri Ulm, a member of the management board of Rail Baltic Estonia.
"Here, we have a solution that allows passengers to cross the railway using elevators and an overhead walkway. But we also have solutions involving underpasses, depending on local conditions," he added.
Rail Baltic Estonia is building the train stations and railway tracks simultaneously.
"When the railway is ready, the stations will also be in place. Both should be available for public use by the end of 2032," Ulm said.
"Track installation will reach this location in 2029 and it depends on how exactly we arrange the schedules. The first test train could even run through here by the end of 2030."
Elron said that because the new procurement for local trains has yet to be announced, it is not known when train testing will begin.
Anna Lutter, a lifelong Kurtna resident, has mixed feelings about Rail Baltica. On the one hand, the railway will run through land belonging to her ancestors. On the other, her event and accommodation center, uper.KUUT, provides lodging for construction workers and space for the local Rail Baltica project office.
The accommodation center is located in the former main building of a poultry research station designed by architect Valve Pormeister.
"People actually ask me quite often whether I bought this amazing property a year and a half ago specifically because Rail Baltica was coming here. I would say definitely not. I bought it because I'm from here," Lutter said.
Lutter said it was difficult to predict whether the new railway infrastructure would make the area more attractive for businesses and residents as locals are fond of the existing railway, which runs fairly close to Kurtna.
Nevertheless, she believes the project should not be left unfinished.
"If only someone could make sure that all these infrastructure investments and projects we've undertaken eventually bear fruit and that the trains actually start running," Lutter said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Valner Väino
