A contract with SWECO Projekt AS for the design of Rail Baltica’s largest and only port-connected freight station has been concluded. The construction is due to begin in early 2022, according to Port of Tallinn.
“Designing a freight station with railways 1435 mm and 1520 mm in width, which are to be functioning simultaneously, is an interesting challenge that we will gladly accept,” Keijo Vaher, CEO of SWECO Projekt AS, said.
Muuga freight station will be one of the key sites of Rail Baltica: the unique combination of infrastructures which is to emerge there will allow goods to be transshipped from marine transport or road transport to railway means of transport of varying width and vice versa.
“This condition will also contribute to a smoother transhipment of goods from roads to the railroad, especially for medium and long-distance transportation in providing services for the exchange of goods between Central Europe and Southern Europe,” Tõnu Grünberg, CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia, said.
Within the Rail Baltica project, around 35 km of new 1435 mm gauge railways will be designed for Muuga Harbour; in addition, approximately 11 km of 1520 mm gauge railways will be relocated and constructed. The designer of Muuga freight station will also be responsible for the design of the freight station buildings, connections between the terminals, and the related infrastructure (railway tunnels, overhead lines, traffic management systems, control centre, rolling stock maintenance depot).
The designing process is to last from September 2020 to the 2nd quarter of 2022 while the beginning of the first stage of the construction has been planned for early 2022. The entire construction of the Muuga freight station of Rail Baltica is to be completed by the end of 2025. At present, Muuga Harbour houses nearly thirty operators of terminals that will be to a different extent affected by the solutions being designed.