We advised the Union of Harju County Municipalities on the planning and initial application for the national designated special plan of the Tallinn ring railway.
Benefits for the environment and citizens
The Tallinn ring railway allows Paldiski bound freight trains to bypass Tallinn city centre and the future international Rail Baltic passenger terminal, set to become a gate to Estonia. The development of the ring railway offers security for the operators of the ports of Paldiski and other entrepreneurs in the region to widen their scope and make new investments, as East bound railway traffic through Tallinn is not viable.
In addition to diverting the freight train traffic away from the capital, the ring railway offers the prospect of regional train traffic between Ülemiste-Paldiski/Turba (Haapsalu)-Ülemiste, enabling quick, comfortable and environmentally friendly commuting for the region’s population in both directions. It will also enhance access to the airport and the Rail Baltic International passenger terminal. The development will also enable access to other services and places of employment via public transportation that are currently only accessible by car.
Detailed legal analysis
The Union of Harju County Municipalities turned to us to prepare the legal analysis required by the Estonian Ministry of Finance to submit a complete application, to initiate the national designated spatial plan. In turn our experts involved other related companies and public sector institutions in the analysis, taking their proposals into account. The University of Tartu and Entec helped assess the estimated cost of the project and the research required to be conducted for its completion.
Significant step forward
The state special spatial plan allows to move further than the Harju county 2030+ plan. The plan enables the evaluation of the possible placement of the railway including properties affected so that the land under the line will be released from restrictions.
The ring railway special spatial plan is estimated to cost approximately 3.4 million euros over 5-7 years and the costs are planned to be divided between the private and public sector. Construction could start in 7 years the earliest.
Our services and client team
We advised the client in the pre-initiation process of the special spatial plan of the Tallinn ring railway, helped draft the initiation for the special spatial plan and prepared a detailed legal analysis. Our client team included partner Paul Künnap and senior associate Sandra Mikli.
