Viljandi to Tallinn, under two hours

Photo: Marko Saarm / Sakala

In schedule published today, the train company Elron pledges to launch extra trains starting June 1^st. At that, a fresh Viljandi express will be transporting travellers to Tallinn in less than two hours.

«While, currently, we had the Tallinn-Viljandi fast lines, we now add an express – one, to begin with,» said the Elron CEO Andrus Ossip. Leaving Viljandi at around 8.30 am, it is supposed to arrive in capital of Estonia in less than two hours’ time. The train will be stopping in Võhma, Türi and Lelle, as well as the spots inside Tallinn that the «fast trains» halt at. An ordinary train takes two hours and 25 minutes to get to Tallinn, from Viljandi. A fast version covers the distance in 2 hours and eight minutes.

«We adjusted the schedule so that, in the afternoons, a train will be headed towards Rapla every hour; in peak hours, every 30 minutes,» said Norbert Kaareste, marketing chief at Elron.

While Viljandi rejoices, Ida-Viru County outlook isn’t brightening: early morning Narva departures will not materialise; the train will start off from Rakvere, to be in Tallinn by 8 am. The 6:40 pm train currently going from Tallinn to Narva will be limited to Rakvere only.

«The five-in-the-morning Narva departure, we turned it around: now, for the first time in a decade, one can take a morning train from Tallinn to Narva,» said Mr Kaareste. Thanks to the change, there will be a night train also, from Narva to Tallinn. From Narva trains, connection is available to Tartu express; Mr Kaareste promises, that this will allow for a faster Narva-Tartu travel than by bus.

To get to Valga, one had to do the connection in Tartu. This will be history. Also, a midday Valga-Tartu departure will become reality, daily.

Tallinn to Tartu, trains will be going eight times a day; half of these trains will be «fast». Tartu-Jõgeva schedule will be rearranges so folks can get from Jõgeva to Tartu by 8 am; and back home when day’s work is done.

According to Andrus Ossip, in midday the westward trains will be less frequent, as, at the request of Estonian Railways, they need to leave a technical window for repairs. «We had been trying to shrink the window, but experience says it needs to be bigger,» explained Mr Ossip. Thus, one Paldiski train and one Riisipere train will be cancelled.

Elron folks say departures might be even more frequent with the trains they now have. The question is: is it worth the while? «Narva excluded, by June 1^st schedule the peak hours are covered,» assured Mr Kaareste.

According to Elron, February volume of passengers rose 40 percent, year-on-year. They expect the growth tempo to continue. «This is just the tip of the iceberg, the current volumes. Considering the movements in Estonia and the use of trains, the numbers of passengers ought to be much bigger,» believes Mr Kaareste.

According to Mr Ossip, the aim is to double train passenger volumes by 2020. First and foremost, on account of those now going by car.