| AS Eesti Liinirongid | |
| Type: | Government-owned corporation |
| Foundation: | 1998 (as Elektriraudtee) October 2013 (as Elron) |
| Location City: | Tallinn |
| Location Country: | Estonia |
| Industry: | Rail transport |
| Products: | Rail transport |
AS Eesti Liinirongid, operating as Elron, is a government-owned passenger train operator in Estonia.
Prior to 2014, the company operated exclusively the electrified commuter rail system in Harjumaa, and was known until October 2013 as Elektriraudtee, i.e. "the Electrical Railway". On 1 January 2014, Elron took over all domestic passenger train services in Estonia from Edelaraudtee.
The company was founded as Elektriraudtee in 1998. While initially operating as a subsidiary of Eesti Raudtee, it was separated entirely within two years.[1]
In May 2013, the Estonian government declared that Elron would be the sole domestic passenger operator in Estonia, compelling the Estonian operator Edelaraudtee to reorientate its operations away from the passenger sector.[2] This change was not unchallenged; a legal dispute between Edelaraudtee and the Estonian government broke out over compensation for lost revenue from the operator's forced withdrawal from passenger services.[3] [4] [5]
Throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s, Elron collaborated closely with Edelaraudtee to examine and implement various opportunities to increase the operating speeds of certain lines, thus enabling Elron's services to run faster in some places.[6] In May 2020, Eesti Raudtee announced a tender to design and provide to electrify the entire Estonian rail network.[7] That same year, Elron openly spoke on its enthusiasm to electrify the cross-border line between Tallinn and St Petersburg via a prospective future joint project between Russia and Estonia if favourable terms could be agreed.[8]
During the 2020s, Elron has multiple plans to expand and improve its network. Options have been studied, including the requisitioning of former goods lines, while a proposed reorganization could reduce the travel times between Tallinn and Tartu to beneath two hours.[9] The maximum service speed of Elron's trains is reportedly set to increase to 160 kilometers per hour.[10] By 2023, work was underway to reconnect the western Estonian town of Haapsalu, which has not been reachable from the capital by rail since the 1990s, by 2027. A new terminal in Kristiine, west of Tallinn's city center, is also being planned, that shall be better interconnected with the rest of the city's public transport.[11]
In mid-2021, a new higher fare for passengers travelling with bicycles was introduced.[12] During January 2022, after two years without any price rises, Elron increased its regular fares by almost 9.5 percent, attributing this as a response to rising energy prices as well to finance infrastructure changes.[13] Two months later, the company announced that Ukrainian refugees would be able to travel on its trains for free.[14] In May 2022, it was announced that passenger numbers, which had sharply dipped in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had recovered.[15]
During late 2023, Elron ceased its Russian language announcements following complaints.[16] In September 2023, Elron's ticketing system was temporarily disrupted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks thought to have been the work of pro-Russia hackers.[17] [18]
Elron operates inter-city trains from Tallinn's Baltic Station on several lines: Tallinn–Tartu–Valga (connecting to Pasažieru vilciens trains to Riga), Tallinn–Tartu–Koidula, Tallinn–Narva, and Tallinn–Viljandi.
Services on the Tallinn–Pärnu route ended in December 2018. The line required substantial upgrading and it was not felt worthwhile spending the money required for this around 8 years before Rail Baltica is due to provide much faster service to Pärnu.[19]
Tallinn's commuter rail network is electrified, and it extends east and west from Baltic Station, the total length of the network being . The eastbound line goes to Aegviidu. The westbound line goes to the town of Keila, where it divides into two branches continuing towards the cargo-harbour city of Paldiski and inland to Turba. The Paldiski branch splits at Klooga, with a short spur going to the beach at Klooga-rand.
Work to upgrade track and the stations took place in the early 2010s.[20] To provide better mobile data covered when passing through rural areas, 25 new cell towers were installed by Telia alongside the Tallinn-Tartu line while 5G apparatus were installed onboard Elron's trains during the early 2020s.[21]
Elron currently uses 38 Stadler FLIRT electric and diesel-electric trains.
Delivery of the 12 three-car and 6 four-car EMU and 6 two-car, 8 three-car and 6 four-car DEMU[22] trains built by Stadler Rail started in 2012; by June 2014 all trains had arrived in Estonia.[23] [24] As of 2015, all of the old Soviet trains were retired.
In mid-2019, Elron received permission to purchase 4 new hybrid trains with an option to add 2 electric trains. The decision was due to frequently overcrowding on the operator's most popular routes, given an increase of passenger number of more than a third since the replacement of the rolling stock with the Stadler fleet in 2014.[25]
During October 2020, Elron announced that Škoda Transportation had won the procurement for six new electric trains with an option to buy 10 more. Škoda will provide six dual system electric trains (Škoda 21Ev, InterPanter), currently set to begin operating on the electrified Tallinn-Tartu route in December 2024. The total sum of the six trains is €56.2 million, and the handover will be carried out in the second half of 2024. The trains are planned to have a number of replaceable seats that can be moved to create more space for bicycles in warm months and for more seating in colder months.[26] In January 2023, the option to purchase 10 additional trainsets was taken up.[27]