Rail Baltic Estonia has signed a design contract with Estonian company AllSpark OÜ to connect the Port of Muuga to the future Rail Baltica route. The approximately 16-kilometer-long Soodevahe–Muuga section is planned for freight train traffic and marks a significant development leap for the entire Estonian railway and logistics sector. The contract value is approximately 2.9 million euros, plus VAT.
According to Anvar Salomets, Chairman of the Board of Rail Baltic Estonia, the Muuga connection is unique in the entire project: “Connecting the Muuga freight station to the Rail Baltica route is of strategic importance for Estonia. This is the only place in Estonia where a railway that meets European standards will be connected to a port, which will allow international freight flows to be directed directly from the port to Europe.”
The Chairman of the Board of the Port of Tallinn, Valdo Kalm, confirms the wider impact of the connection on all Estonian trade: “The Rail Baltica connection will give a new dimension to Estonian logistics, turning the Muuga Port area into a more competitive transport hub. Thanks to the Rail Baltica freight station, it will be possible to design a freight corridor connecting Northern and Southern Europe, which will create new, more environmentally friendly opportunities for freight carriers in both Estonia and Western Europe.”
A 1435 mm gauge railway will be designed, and in addition to the new railway route, all infrastructure units affected by the construction of Rail Baltica will also be redesigned: the existing 1520 mm gauge railway, intersecting roads and utility networks. Maintenance roads, noise barriers, culverts and retaining walls will be added to the route. A Rail Baltica control centre and depot building will be designed in the Muuga freight station area.
Erki Kimber, member of the board of AllSpark OÜ, emphasizes the role of domestic engineering in a large infrastructure project: “It is extremely pleasing to note that companies based on domestic capital also have the opportunity to create value as the main contractor in such a large and important project. This is the largest and longest section of work in our Rail Baltica portfolio so far, which makes the preparation and management of project solutions a particularly exciting challenge. The design of the Soodevahe–Muuga section is a great opportunity for our own Estonian engineers to demonstrate their competence and intelligence in developing effectively implementable and sustainable solutions. The entire AllSpark team is extremely proud and excited that we can contribute to the success of such a large-scale and future-oriented infrastructure project – and it will certainly help the next generation of young engineers.” He added that since AllSpark is involved in infrastructure construction in addition to design on a daily basis, the company can offer added value in both a substantive and procedural perspective.
The design work will result in a construction project with the necessary permits, based on which Rail Baltic Estonia can move to the construction phase. The contract deadline is September 2027, but some projects will be completed earlier, allowing construction to begin in 2027. Construction work is expected to last until 2030.
