Rail Baltica Estonia signs contract for design works of regional stations

Credit: Rail Baltica

Rail Baltic Estonia, Rail Baltica global project’s national implementing body in Estonia, has signed an agreement with Spanish company Ardanuy Ingenieria S.A. for the design works of Rail Baltica regional stations in the Harju and Pärnu counties. The scope of agreement includes design for waiting platforms, overpasses and underpasses, outdoor areas, parking lots and access roads of Rail Baltica’s Harju and Pärnu county regional stations.

“For the crossings between the station buildings and waiting platforms, the completed standard solutions, which are part of the existing design of Raplamaa regional station, will be used and adopted to local conditions,” Rauno Lee, Senior Project Manager at Rail Baltic Estonia, said. “At the same time, detailed plans have already been initiated for nine regional stations on the Tallinn-Pärnu section, whereas detailed plan for the Assaku regional station planned by Rae parish is still to be initiated.”

Designing the regional stations

Ardanuy Ingenieria S.A. will oversee design for seven regional stations of Rail Baltica mainline in Estonia. Assaku, Luige, Saku and Kurtna stops in Harju County and Kaisma, Tootsi and Urge stops in Pärnu County. According to the contract, the design works are planned for the period of five months with additional three months planned for applying for the building permits. The total cost of the design contract is amounted €368,000 without VAT.

In case of the regional stations, it is planned that railway facilities related to the regional stations will be built at the same as the mainline construction, whereas construction of service facilities (e.g., buildings, outdoor areas) will start immediately before the start of railway operations.

Since the beginning of 2022, design for the regional stations at Raplamaa has been underway. Preliminary designs of the standard projects for the transition between station buildings and waiting platforms have been completed whereas preliminary designs for outdoor areas, parking lots and access roads, are in progress, performed by AS Novarc Group.

According to the Rail Baltica Operational Plan, regional trains will run from Tallinn to Riga and will have 13 stops in Estonia: Assaku, Luige, Saku, Kurtna, Kohila, Rapla, Järvakandi, Kaisma, Tootsi, Urge, Surju and Häädemeeste. In addition to local stops, an International Passenger Terminal is planned in Pärnu city.