Due to infrastructure improvement works, international train services on the route Tallinn–Tartu–Riga–Vilnius will be interrupted from today until Friday, April 17, representatives of the Estonian state passenger train operator "Eesti Liinirongid", operating under the brand "Elron", informed the LETA agency.
On Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, services to Riga and Vilnius will only operate up to Tartu.
Regular train services between Tallinn and Riga will be restored on Monday, April 20.
The company notes that from today until Thursday, April 16, all services between Tartu and Valga will be provided by buses. Train services on this section will be restored on Friday, April 17.
At the same time, until Friday, April 17, due to infrastructure works on the sections Aigvīdu–Tapa and Tartu–Valga, international train services will not be carried out, including on the routes Narva–Riga–Vilnius, Tallinn–Riga–Vilnius, Tallinn–Tartu–Riga with a transfer in Valga.
The last direct train Tallinn–Riga before the start of the repair works took place on Saturday, April 11, and the Riga–Tallinn train on Sunday, April 12.
As previously reported, in January 2025, the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian passenger train operators "Pasažieru vilciens", "LTG Link", and "Elron" began implementing train services on the route Tallinn–Tartu–Riga–Vilnius. During the trip lasting more than ten hours, passengers need to transfer in Valga.
In September last year, an additional train began to operate on the Tallinn–Tartu–Riga route with transfers on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This train between Tallinn and Valga is operated by "Elron", while the section between Valga and Riga is operated by "Pasažieru vilciens". In 2025, more than 16,000 passengers used these connections.
The subsidiary of the Lithuanian state railway group "Lietuvos geležinkeliai" — "LTG Link" — began operating services between Riga and Vilnius at the end of December 2023. Meanwhile, the passenger train between Tartu and Riga started operating on January 12 of this year.
The discussion of connecting the capitals of all three Baltic countries by passenger rail routes intensified in September 2021, when as part of the European Year of Rail, the Baltic Express departed from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius. It involved the then ministers, representatives of the railway industry of the Baltic countries and the European Commission, as well as the implementers of the "Rail Baltica" railway project.
