Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ and Tariston AS signed a contract in Rapla on Tuesday for the construction of the Hagudi-Alu section of the railway line in Rapla County, during which a total of seven kilometres of embankment will be built, together with accompanying facilities and infrastructure.
“This is already the fourth main line construction contract this year and will extend the Rail Baltica railway line under construction in Estonia to almost 30 kilometres, with a total contract value of almost €172 million,” said Taavi Laja, member of the Rail Baltic Estonia Management Board, at the signing ceremony in Rapla State House. “In addition to today’s contract, construction tenders are in the final stage for another 45 kilometres and we are continuing to move ahead on schedule, so that by the end of the year, construction work will be underway on more than 70 kilometres, or one third of the Estonian rail route.”
According to Rail Baltic Estonia’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Rašid Pulatov, the Hagudi-Alu section will see the construction of the railway embankment with associated facilities and infrastructure, including the construction of the North Hagudi and South Hagudi cattle tunnels, the necessary access and maintenance roads and noise barriers.
“One of the biggest challenges on this section will be the construction works in the Hagudi bog, where the contractor will have to build a concrete structure of more than 600 metres for the railway line under difficult conditions with minimum disturbance to the environment,” said Pulatov.
“The final completion of the Rail Baltica rail link, which we associate mainly with increasing the economy, competitiveness, mobility and thus security of the Estonian state, is a national asset for all of us. I am therefore very pleased, as the head of the company, that with today’s Hagudi – Alu construction contract, Tariston will be able to make its contribution and our project team will be proud to continue the construction of another such important section of the Rail Baltica main line,” said Argo Kotsar, member of Tariston’s management board.
The construction contract for the Hagudi-Alu section is worth €30.59 million excluding VAT. The works are scheduled to start in the autumn of this year and are due to be completed by the end of 2027.
On the Hagudi-Alu section, the Kalevi ecoduct and the Sikeldi viaduct have already been completed, and the Kuku and Seli-Koigi-Alu viaducts are expected to be completed in July. The Alu viaduct and the Sikeldi animal tunnel are under construction on this section.
A more detailed and extensive map of the section, including all the objects under construction, can be found here.