ESTONIA | Railways | Raudteed

[Tin_Can]

First railway built in Estonia: Paldiski-Tallinn-Narva (1870)
Length of railways: 2167km (of that,1540km are public railways)
First electric railway built in Estonia: Tallinn-Pääsküla (1924)
Length of electrified railways: 131,6km
Track gauge in Estonia: 1520mm
Electric railways power system: 3 kV DC
First narrow gauge railway built in Estonia: Valga-Pärnu (1895-96)
Length of narrow gauge railways: 2km (Lavasaare Museum railway) + few km of Naissaare island military railway

Narrow gauge railway network used to be as extensive as ordinary railway network and in addition to public lines included industrial & military railways. Most main lines were dismantled in 1960-1970. Last remaining industrial lines were dismantled in 1990s.

Map of Estonian railways:


Useful Estonian railway related links:
Eesti Raudtee - www.evr.ee
Edelaraudtee - www.edel.ee
Elektriraudtee - www.elektriraudtee.ee
Go Rail - www.gorail.ee

Threads on Skyscrapercity.com:
Riisipere-Haapsalu railway line - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1318267
Rail Baltica - http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=320660

[Tin_Can]

Following trains and locomotives are most common in Estonia:

Locomotives:
ČKD ČME-3 | Used by Eesti Raudtee (will be phased out in upcoming years),Edelaraudtee,Leonhard Weiss RTE (former VolkerRail)
Luhanskteplovoz 2TE116 | Used by Eesti Raudtee
Luhanskteplovoz TEM2 (and it's variants) | Used by harbours,Eesti Energia (mining industry)
Kolomensky Zavod TEP-70 | Used by Go Rail
General Electric GE C36-7 | Used by Eesti Raudtee
General Electric GE C30-7 | In reserve,originally used by Eesti Raudtee
MEV-1 | Used by Elektriraudtee,only electric locomotive in use (locally rebuilt from ER2 passenger train head)

Passenger trains
RVR DR1A | Used by Edelaraudtee
RVR ER2 (and it's upgrades & variants) | Used By Elektriraudtee
RVR ER12 | Used by Elektriraudtee

Future upgrades:
Stadler Flirt (EMU) | 18 electric trains ordered by Elektriraudtee
Stadler Flirt (DMU) | 20 diesel trains ordered by Elektriraudtee
China CNR DF7G-E | 16 shunters ordered by EVR Cargo

[Tin_Can]

The future - Estonian Stadler Flirt's.

[Tin_Can]

This hasn't been officially announced yet,but it seems that Leonhard Weiss RTE will build new train station platforms in Tallinn. Stations which will face reconstruction - central train station,Tondi,Järve,Rahumäe,Nõmme,Hiiu,Kivimäe,Pääsküla and Laagri (hmm,where's Lilleküla? )

This is part of ongoing plans to rebuild train station platforms to European standard height of 550mm. Reconstruction of trains station platforms will be completed before 2013,when first Stadler Flirt trains arrive in Estonia.

[estlander]

Estonian narrow-gauge railway was builded in 1895 (Tallinn tram was ofcourse before).





And Estonian armored trains (we used them to defend Estonia from Soviet Russia and in Latvia, against germans in Estonian Independent war).

Their ensign:

Few examples. Armored trains were usually numbered: "Laiarööpmeline Soomusrong nr 1" etc



Here is former "stadlerflirt" in 1924 Nõmme station



heh, a peak into history

BTW: Electric railway was in Estonia before it was in east or south (Russia or Latvia).

[Tin_Can]

Damn,forgot those!

[estlander]

Tinnie, dont forget also a Hy-Rail systems.

Eesti Raudtee uses Heavy Duty Fords and Sisu Trucks with HyRail.



F350 heavy duty for brigade above and F250ies for trackmasters


Also some MB Unimogs:


cheers

[estlander]

Köh-köh, kas keegi viitsiks ette võtta suveprojekti ja pildistada kõik Eesti raudteejaamade veetornid ülesse, või võiks teha üle Eestilise fotovõistluse. Suht huvitav materjal. Kas teha facebookis üleskutse ja siduda mingi movement week vms üritusega?

And to the topic:

Current Pääsküla electric trains look like this..
image hosted on flickr


and stations look like this:


bonus: a unmanned electric locomotive

[Wover]

Some cool archive footage:

Inauguration of Tallinn - Pääsküla electric railway: http://www.filmi.arhiiv.ee/fis/index...che=1305185203 (starting at 2:55)

Travelling by train on discount summer tickets: http://www.filmi.arhiiv.ee/fis/index...che=1305139498

Soviet Propaganda: In Soviet Union, even women can be train drivers: http://www.filmi.arhiiv.ee/fis/index...che=1305134785

There are a lot more clips on the Estonian film archives, but I don't want to hijack this topic .

[Tin_Can]

If you found smth interesting,then maybe you could post it in On Air! thread?

Originally Posted by estlander

Tinnie, dont forget also a Hy-Rail systems.

Eesti Raudtee uses Heavy Duty Fords and Sisu Trucks with HyRail.:

And Leonhard Weiss RTE (former VolkerRail) uses HyRail excavators and Scania trucks.

Few more photos of Eesti Raudtee HyRail vehicles.




And VolkerRail's HyRail excavator. In summer these are used in various construction & maintenance works,but in winter they work as light snowploughs. When snow coverage isn't too deep,they can easily clean tracks (specialized railway snowploughs are used for deep snow)

Originally Posted by estlander

Köh-köh, kas keegi viitsiks ette võtta suveprojekti ja pildistada kõik Eesti raudteejaamade veetornid ülesse, või võiks teha üle Eestilise fotovõistluse. Suht huvitav materjal. Kas teha facebookis üleskutse ja siduda mingi movement week vms üritusega?

+1. It would be excellent & noble cause. If someone manages to set smth up,then I'm more than happy to contribute few photos

I think it's the last chance to photograph historic water towers (and railway architecture),as many of them are in bad shape. Vandalism and disuse is rapidly deteriorating old buildings and there's no telling how much railway architecture has been lost already...

Btw,thinking big - this project could be used for smth useful,like setting up website dedicated to railway architecture or publishing a book (maybe even Eesti Raudtee is interested of helping a bit?)

[Tin_Can]

Few videos of Estonian trains.

Eesti Raudtee C36-7.


Edelaraudtee CME-3 hauling GoRail Moscow express.


GoRail's Tallinn-Moscow train (with TEP-70)


Elektriraudtee ER2 electric train.


All videos are by Youtube user nerve83,all rights reserved. I recommend you to also check out other train videos by this user (Estonian & Latvian trains excellent HD stuff!)

[Wover]

Also some videos of YouTube user "Dashloc", a French guy who mostly captures TGV's in France, but came here 2 summers ago:

[Urbanisaatio]

Originally Posted by Tin_Can

The future - Estonian Stadler Flirt's.

We have exactly those same trains (sm5) They came to Finland in the beginning of 2008.





Inside



A few videos in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo3AnJSQGQE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLTEa...eature=related

[Tin_Can]

Our Stadler Flirt's will be based on Finnish Sm5 design because of basically same track gauge (1520mm & 1524mm) and weather conditions. Only diesel trains will be slightly different.
Btw,we even have testing period with same length as Finland had - first (electric) trains arrive in 2012 and should enter public service in 2013 (in 2013 first diesel trains arrive for testing and enter service in 2014)

OT - as far as I understand,Finnish Sm5 delivery is still in progress,as in spring Sm5 along with Norwegian Flirt's were assembled in Stadler factory. When are the last ones delivered for Junakalusto OY?

[manrush]

Ah yes, the hand-me-down C36 locomotives.

Are they that much heavier than the Russian-made and Ukrainian-made locs?

[Tin_Can]

Originally Posted by manrush

Ah yes, the hand-me-down C36 locomotives.

Are they that much heavier than the Russian-made and Ukrainian-made locs?

I'm not sure about their weight but so far it's been said that they are able to haul A LOT heavier trains than Russian & Ukrainian locomotives,thus putting lot more weight on railways. They are probably in same weight class as 2TE116's & 2M62's (< phased out about decade ago),as they often also operate in pairs. On rare occasions three C36's are used for extra heavy trains.
C36's have managed to create serious concern and have raised lots of questions. Few major issues so far:

• Railway bridges & railways with wood sleepers might not support weight of American loco's - officials have avoided commenting this issue.
• vibrations caused by C36's might damage buildings close to railways - to some extent has been proven and size of freight trains have been reduced.
• Too loud train horns - it ain't no rural America here and C36 caught serious criticism for using them in urban areas (especially during nights) Right now all of them use different horns than originally fitted (I'm not sure if they have been replaced or just toned down)

Imho,purchase of refurbished C30's & C36's in early 2000's was really bad decision for Eesti Raudtee. During the time of purchase Eesti Raudtee was briefly privately owned and it's owners didn't give a rat's ass about economic operation,otherwise they could have chosen European made new locomotives. Instead they were only interested of hauling as much cargo as possible.
Eesti Raudtee,which is now state owned again,is not going to replace C36 is any close future. Instead they will operate them as long as they can,as no one is willing to buy old American locomotives. We're stuck with them forever...

[Rebasepoiss]

Originally Posted by manrush

Ah yes, the hand-me-down C36 locomotives.

Are they that much heavier than the Russian-made and Ukrainian-made locs?

Yes, they are quite a bit heavier. Russian-made locos have an axle-weight of approx. 25 tons, for US locos it's 30 tons.

Originally Posted by Tin_Can

[*]Too loud train horns - it ain't no rural America here and C36 caught serious criticism for using them in urban areas (especially during nights) Right now all of them use different horns than originally fitted (I'm not sure if they have been replaced or just toned down)[/LIST]

In Estonia, trains have a whistle and a horn. Whistle is most often used since it's quieter. When Eesti Raudtee bought the US locos, they also fitted them with whistles since trains in the US don't have them.

A good example of the difference between a whistle and a horn:


And GE C-36 using the whistle:

[Tin_Can]

EVR Infra has announced passenger platforms reconstruction deadlines on electric railway lines.

Elektriraudtee published EVR Infra's list of station platforms reconstruction deadlines in their blog. Sadly construction works continue until end of next year,probably meaning that Stadler Flirt testing period starts before all platforms have been rebuilt..

Anyway,see for yourself (translation of 'kasutusel' - in use,completed):

Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 1 | 31.12.2012
Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 2 | 31.12.2012
Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 3 | 31.12.2012
Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 4 | 31.12.2012
Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 5 | 31.12.2012
Tallinn-Balti jaam nr 6 | 31.12.2012
Lilleküla peatuskoht Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Lilleküla peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Tondi peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Tondi peatuskoht Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Järve peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Järve peatuskoht Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Rahumäe peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Rahumäe peatuskoht Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Nõmme jaam Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Nõmme jaam Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Hiiu jaam Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Hiiu jaam Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Kivimäe peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.12.2012
Kivimäe peatuskoht Keila suund | 31.12.2012
Pääsküla jaam | 31.12.2012
Laagri peatuskoht | 31.12.2012
Saue peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Valingu peatuskoht Tallinna suund | Kasutusel
Valingu peatuskoht Keila suund | Kasutusel
Keila jaam | Kasutusel
Kulna peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Vasalemma jaam | Kasutusel
Kibuna | Kasutusel
Laitse peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Jaanika peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Riisipere jaam | Kasutusel
Paldiski jaam | Kasutusel
Laoküla peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Põllküla peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Klooga-Aedlinn | Kasutusel
Klooga jaam | Kasutusel
Klooga-Ranna peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Niitvälja peatuskoht | Kasutusel
Ülemiste jaam Tallinna suund | 31.10.2011
Ülemiste jaam Tapa suund | 31.10.2011
Ülemiste jaam-VESSE | 31.12.2012
Lagedi jaam | 30.09.2011
Kulli peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.07.2011
Kulli peatuskoht Tapa suund | 31.07.2011
Aruküla jaam Tallinna suund | 30.09.2011
Aruküla jaam Tapa suund | 30.09.2011
Raasiku jaam Tallinna suund | 31.07.2011
Raasiku jaam Tapa suund | 31.08.2011
Parila peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.08.2011
Parila peatuskoht Tapa suund | 31.08.2011
Kehra jaam Tallinna suund | 31.07.2011
Kehra jaam Tapa suund | 31.07.2011
Lahinguvälja peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.08.2011
Lahinguvälja peatuskoht Tapa suund | 31.08.2011
Mustjõe peatuskoht Tallinna suund | 31.08.2011
Mustjõe peatuskoht Tapa suund | 31.08.2011
Aegviidu jaam Tapa suund | 30.09.2011
Aegviidu jaam Tallinna suund | 31.08.2011

[Rebasepoiss]

The testing period begins on 21 December 2012 so only 10 days before the last deadline for finishing the low platforms.

[Tin_Can]

Airex Composite Structures,sub-contractor of Stadler,is starting production of parts required for Estonian trains.

Airex Composite Structures (ACS) receives the acceptance of Stadler Rail for the production of FLIRT front ends for 38 train units. All trains for Tallinn, Estonia will be supplied with the approved front ends of ACS, fulfilling the high requirements of the OEM and operator.

Full press release,via railway-technology.com: http://www.railway-technology.com/co...s/press15.html