"Being granted the building rights means that we can move on with the project according to the planned schedule, and larger construction work can start at the beginning of 2019," sauid Erik Laidvee, CEO of Estonian Railways, in a press release.

"As of today, the reconstruction work for the tracks at Riisipere train station has been completed, and the process of the environmental impact assessment of the new railways is about to be completed,'' Mr. Laidvee went on.

''This week we announced a tender for the design and construction of the Riisipere electric train traction substation," he continued.

Ongoing project

The design of the section of rail started in April and is still ongoing; at the end of summer it will be possible to start applying for a construction permit for the new rail stretch. According to current plans, the Riisipere-Turba rail section could receive its authorisation for use in November 2019.

The new stretch of line is located in the rural municipality of Saue, in Harju County, southwest of Tallinn, and will extend the current westerly electrified railway infrastructure of Estonian Railways.

At a meeting in June the Government gave the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications the consent to assign the land relating to the Riisipere-Turba railway section with building rights for the state-owned railway infrastructure company.

Contoversy surrounding ownership of the land

Taavi OÜ, which privatised the Haapsalu railway section in 1997, took the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to the administrative court at the end of April, since the company believes that it is still the owner of the Riisipere-Haapsalu embankment.

Taavi OÜ has made an offer to the state to sell the embankment, but it is still of the opinion that the embankment belongs to the state in any case.

In the framework of an additional infrastructure investment program in May 2017, the Government approved the construction of the 6.5 km Turba-Riisipere rail section for €8 million.

The projected speed of the electrified rail section is to be 140 km per hour. The maximum daily throughflow should be 12 pairs of trains, with an axle load of up to 25 tonnes.