![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2558266h8c34t24.jpg\"\/)
View from inside the Paldiski maantee pedestrian tunnel in Tallinn. Source: Siim L\u00f5vi\/ERR<\/p>\nTallinn may halt train traffic on the Endla t\u00e4nav rail embankment to build EU-funded bike and pedestrian tunnels, though Elron says it may not be strictly necessary.<\/p>\n
The tunnels planned beneath the railway embankment at Endla t\u00e4nav are part of a redesigned solution for the Kristiine traffic junction that the city began developing last year.<\/p>\n
Tallinn signed a construction contract with O\u00dc Infra in 2025. The project will also be partly financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor Kristjan J\u00e4rvan (Isamaa) said the current snag is passenger rail operator Elron’s refusal to accept the originally proposed construction stages, which would require temporarily halting rail traffic.<\/p>\n
“We’re seeking solutions together with Elron, although Elron was already involved when the project was drafted,” J\u00e4rvan said, adding that windows of time for construction had already been reserved with Estonian Railways.<\/p>\n
Ministry: City changed track<\/p>\n
Sander Salmu, deputy secretary general of the Ministry of Climate, said the disagreement arose after the city changed the procurement terms.<\/p>\n
View from inside the Paldiski maantee pedestrian tunnel in Tallinn. Source: Siim L\u00f5vi\/ERR<\/p>\n
He said the original plan envisioned a so-called closed method of construction, but Tallinn later later allowed contractors to also propose open-method construction, which would require the temporary suspension of train traffic over the site.<\/p>\n
Stopping trains at the Endla t\u00e4nav overpass would also cut off access to Elron’s maintenance depot, which is why the rail operator favors the closed construction method.<\/p>\n
Elron management board member M\u00e4rt Ehrenpreis pointed to a similar project in Estonia’s second-largest city.<\/p>\n
“In Tartu, pedestrian tunnels were built the same way,” he said. “They were bored under the railway using a closed method.”<\/p>\n
Ehrenpreis noted that the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) has already issued the necessary construction permit for the project based on that approach. The change in plans, he added, came as a surprise. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Under the signed contracts, upgrades to the Endla t\u00e4nav railway embankment are due to be completed by 2029.<\/p>\n
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