In order to launch the planned Tartu-Riga train line, the southern Estonian town of Tartu has invited the representatives of municipalities along the route of the future train line in both Estonia and Latvia to cooperate.
According to Tartu Mayor Urmas Klaas, the restoration of the train connection between Tartu and Riga has been on the agenda for a long time, and Elron, in cooperation with the Ministry of Climate and the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, is making serious preparations for the opening of the route.
“We convened the representatives of the municipalities most affected by the coming of the line to discuss how to get this line up and running in joint cooperation and what different regions can gain from it. The meeting showed that there is a great interest in the line and a willingness to cooperate in the field of marketing, so that the line is actively utilized,” Klaas said.
At the invitation of the mayor, representatives of the city of Tartu, the South Estonia Tourism Cluster, Elron, the Latvian train company Vivi and the municipalities of both Estonia and Latvia located along the route met on Tuesday to discuss cooperation opportunities in the launching of the planned Tartu-Riga train route.
At the meeting, Elron board member Mart Ehrenpreis gave an overview of the current status and schedule of the launch of the Tartu-Riga passenger train route, the train sets planned for the line and the cooperation with the Latvian train company Vivi for the launch of the line.
“The opening of an international train line between two countries is primarily a very large cooperation project, where the result depends on finding common wishes and interests,” Ehrenpreis said. “Interest in the line seems to be equally high both in southern Estonia and northern Latvia.”
Annika Ojasaar, the head of tourism in Tartu, and Marleen Otsus, the marketing manager of the city of Tartu, talked about why the new train line is important for the tourism and marketing of the city of Tartu and South Estonia and what the upcoming plans are for marketing cooperation.
“In order to launch the Tartu-Riga line, we plan to continue marketing cooperation with Latvian cooperation partners as well as the municipalities of South Estonia, so that the train line becomes popular on both the Estonian and Latvian sides,” Ojasaar added.
The planned train line will start from Tallinn and, according to the current plans, will stop in Jogeva, Tartu and Valga/Valka. On the Latvian side, stops are planned in Valmiera, Cesis, Sigulda, Zemitani and Riga.
According to initial plans, there will be one departure per day in both directions. The journey time between Tartu and Riga is three hours and 25 minutes. There will be an opportunity to increase departures from 2025.
Source: BNS
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