Transport in Estonia

Transport in Estonia relies mainly on road and rail networks.

Roads

Estonian main and E-roads

National roads

National roads form the core of Estonian road network. Their total length is 16,489 km (or 28% of all roads), 67% of them are paved.[1] They are divided into 4 classes according to importance:

Main roads
Number E-road Route Length (km) Notes
Tallinn – Narva 211 expressway for 80 km out of Tallinn and 7 km between Kukruse and Johvi.
Continues to Saint Petersburg as Russian M11
Tallinn – Tartu – Võru – Luhamaa 291 expressway for 26 km out of Tallinn and 6 km near Mao.
Crosses Estonia in southeast direction from Tallinn to join National Road 7
Jõhvi – Tartu – Valga 216 continues from Valga to Riga as Latvian A3
Tallinn – Pärnu – Ikla 193 expressway for 14 km out of Tallinn
continues from Ikla to Riga as Latvian A1
Pärnu – Rakvere – Sõmeru 184 from Pärnu via Paide to join National Road 1 near Rakvere
Valga – Uulu 125 from Pärnu via Kilingi-Nõmme to Valga
Riga – Pskov 22 short section in southeast Estonia via Misso, continues as Russian A212 and Latvian A2
Tallinn – Paldiski 49 via Keila, Keila-Paldiski section is part of E 265, which continues on ferry to Kapellskär
Ääsmäe – Haapsalu – Rohuküla 81 ferry connection from Rohuküla to Hiiumaa
Risti – Virtsu – Kuivastu – Kuressaare 144 ferry between Virtsu and Kuivastu (Muhumaa)
Tallinn Ring Road 38
Tartu – Viljandi – Kilingi-Nõmme 130

Electric vehicle network

Estonia is the first country in the EU and in the world to introduce a nationwide, publicly serviced charging system for charging the batteries of electric vehicles.[2] The 165 fast charging stations are equipped with connectors of the CHAdeMO standard. They are located throughout the entire country, including the islands, and have a maximum distance of 40–60 km in between. The charging stations can also be navigated via a smartphone app (currently only for Android). The relatively dense network and 30 minute quick charges are built to enable a country-wide electric vehicle network. The system offers a unitary booking service and several different tariffs, some of which appear attractively low priced.[3] The charging station network puts Estonia at the forefront in Europe even though Norway actually has a higher penetration of electric vehicles. Estonia has a rate of 1 electric vehicle per 1000 capita, whereas Norway has 4 EVs per 1000 capita.[2]

Railways

Railway links with adjacent countries

Light rail

There has been a growing tram network in Tallinn, Estonia since 1888, when traffic was started by horse-powered trams. The first line was electrified on October 28, 1925. The first electric trams were built by Dvigatel, Ltd., in Tallinn before World War II and for some years after that, the last one in 1954. In the 1920s and 1930s gas-powered trams were also used. Since 1955 to 1988 German-built trams were used. In total, there were 20 LOWA T54-B54 trams (in use from February 1955 to March 1977), 11 Gotha T57-B57 (in use from January 1958 to June 1978), 5 Gotha T59E-B59E (in use from June 1960 to February 1980), 14 Gotha T2-62 and B2-62 (in use from 1962 to 1981) and 50 Gotha G4 trams (in use from January 1965 to October 1988) trams. The first Czechoslovakian-built ČKD Tatra T4SU arrived in 1973. The T4SU trams were in use from May 1973 to September 2005 and there were 60 of them. The first KT4SU arrived in Tallinn in 1981 and was first in use on March 10, 1981. In 2007, there are 56 KT4SU, 12 KTNF6 (rebuilt KT4SUs, 10 local, one from Gera and one from Erfurt) and 23 KT4D (12 from Gera, 6 from Cottbus, 1 from Frankfurt (Oder) and 5 from Erfurt) in use. As of 2007, there are four lines: 1 (Kopli-Kadriorg), 2 (Kopli-Ülemiste), 3 (Tondi-Kadriorg) and 4 (Tondi-Ülemiste). There have also been lines 5 (Kopli-Vana-Lõuna, shut down in 2004 because of small usage) and 6 (Kopli-Tondi, temporarily used in time of repairs).

Ports and harbours

Estonia has 45 ports in the State Port Register. With a few exceptions, all of them are on the Baltic Sea.

Largest ports are Muuga (near Tallinn), Tallinn (comprises several ports), Paldiski, Kunda, Pärnu and Sillamäe.

Merchant marine

Airports

Airports – with paved runways

Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is the largest airport in Estonia.

Pipelines

Waterways

Currently operating water transport routes:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Estonian Road Administration. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  2. 1 2 http://elmo.ee/estonia-becomes-the-first-in-the-world-to-open-a-nationwide-ev-fast-charging-network/
  3. ↑ http://elmo.ee/pricing/
  4. ↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/en.html
  5. ↑ Abruka transport Lääne-Saare Parish.
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