RAIL Baltica Estonia has signed a contract with Merko Ehitus Eesti for the construction of the passenger terminal for the Rail Baltica line in the Ülemiste district of Tallinn.
The station will be built to a design developed by Zaha Hadid Architects alongside Estonian firm, Esplan. The building will span Suur-Sõjamäe Street, the Rail Baltica line, and the existing eastbound 1520mm-gauge main line.
It will rise to a maximum height of 20m and the central structure will be 180m long, with pedestrian tunnels and equipment rooms built underneath. Three platforms with a total length of 1250m will be built for Rail Baltica trains, around half of which will be covered.
Rail Baltica says that railway operations will continue interrupted throughout the construction period, which is expected to begin in November and conclude in October 2028. It adds that as well as Rail Baltica and mainline services, Ülemiste will integrate light rail lines, bus routes and cycle paths to “become the most modern transport hub in the Baltic region.” The station project is financed with funds from the European Union’s Cohesion Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
“The Ülemiste Linda Terminal is unprecedented in Estonian railway history - it is not just a building but a new gateway from Estonia to the world,” says Anvar Salomets, chairman of the management board of Rail Baltic Estonia. “The terminal building designed by Zaha Hadid Architects marks a new era in infrastructure development in the Baltic states, now being realised by Merko.”
Last week, Rail Baltic Estonia also awarded two major construction contracts for the 213km section of Rail Baltica that runs in Estonia, meaning that all work to build its section of the new standard-gauge railway is now under contract.
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