AS Eesti Liinirongid, operating as Elron, is a government-owned passenger train operator in Estonia. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Eesti Raudtee in 1998, and separated shortly thereafter. Prior to 2014, the company operated exclusively the electrified commuter rail system in Harjumaa, and was known until October 2013 as ''Elektriraudtee'', i.e. "the Electrical Railway". On 1 January 2014 Elron took over all domestic passenger train services in Estonia from Edelaraudtee.

Network

Inter-city rail

Elron operates inter-city trains from Tallinn's Balti jaam on several lines: Tallinn–

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

– Valga (connecting to Pasažieru vilciens trains to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

), Tallinn–Tartu– Koidula, Tallinn– Narva, and Tallinn– Viljandi. Services on the Tallinn– Pärnu route ended in December 2018. The line required substantial upgrading and it was not felt worthwhile spending the money required for this around 8 years before Rail Baltica is due to provide much faster service to Pärnu.

Tallinn commuter rail

Tallinn's commuter rail network is electrified, and it extends east and west from Balti jaam, the total length of the network being 132 km. The eastbound line goes to

Aegviidu Aegviidu is a borough ( et, alev) in Anija Parish, Harju County. The borough has a population of 706 (as of 1 January 2017) and covers an area of . The population density is . Aegviidu is located in the crossing of the Tallinn–Saint Petersb ...

. The westbound line goes to the town of Keila, where it divides into two branches continuing towards the cargo-harbour city of

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

and inland to Turba. The Paldiski branch splits at Klooga, with a short spur going to the beach at Klooga-rand. Work to upgrade track and the stations took place in the early 2010s.

Rolling stock

Elron currently uses 38 Stadler FLIRT electric and diesel-electric trains. Delivery of the 12 three-car and 6 four-car EMU and 6 two-car, 8 three-car and 6 four-car DEMU trains built by

Stadler Rail Stadler Rail is a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock, with an emphasis on regional train multiple units and trams. It is also focused on niche products, such as being one of the last European manufacturers of rack railway rolling stock ...

started in 2012; by June 2014 all trains had arrived in Estonia. As of 2015, all of the old Soviet trains were retired. As of June 2019, Elron received permission to purchase 4 new hybrid trains with an option to add 2 electric trains. The decision was due to overcrowding (as of 2019) on the most popular routes, given an increase of passenger number of more than a third since the replacement of the rolling stock with the Stadler fleet in 2014. Elron announced in October 2020 that Škoda Transportation won the procurement for six new electric trains with an option to buy 10 more. Škoda will provide six dual system electric trains ( Škoda 21Ev, InterPanter), currently set to begin operating on the electrified Tallinn-Tartu route in December, 2024. The total sum of the six trains is €56.2 million, and the handover will be carried out in the second half of 2024. The trains are planned to have a number of replacable seats that can be moved to create more space for bicycles in warm months and for more seating in colder months. The Škoda and Stadler trains will be in operation simultaneously beginning from 2024.

References

External links