Pärnu County's rural municipalities want local stops on Rail Baltic route
Before passenger rail service is concluded between Pärnu and Lelle, people in the rural municipalities of Pärnu County need certainty that the Rail Baltic route will have local train stops and that local residents' transport options will not be cut.
"We want confirmation even before the Lelle-Pärnu railway route is closed that there will be local train stops on the high-speed railway being built," Tootsi municipal mayor Riina Kukk said.
She noted that the government's decision to conclude rail traffic between Lelle and Pärnu as of Jan. 1, 2019 means that a lot of people will not be able to travel as they are currently used to traveling.
"The arrival of Rail Baltic also might not improve the travel options of people who live in rural municipalities along the route," Kukk noted.
According to a July 17 decision made by the Estonian government, passenger rail traffic between Pärnu and Lelle on the Tallinn-Pärnu route will be concluded in 2019, as according to Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson, the money needed for necessary renovations along the segment was not found.
The estimated €17 million that would be needed to reconstruct the Pärnu-Lelle railway segment will be invested into Rail Baltic instead.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS
