"Creating a fast rail connection to the heart of Europe has been the Baltic countries' wish for years, now our second funding application has got a positive reply. The lion's share of the funds or 9.7 million euros will go towards the construction of a tram line connecting the Ulemiste passenger terminal of Rail Baltica and the Tallinn airport. Good news for Tallinn, passengers, and the future of Rail Baltica," Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kristen Michal said.
The rest of the funds is planned to be spent on various necessary studies, including the railway construction concept, building logistics solutions, analysis of the possibility of extending the tram line to Tallinn's Old City Harbor, and solutions for a rail freight terminal in Parnu.
The total amount of support sought by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the three countries' joint venture RB Rail is 238 million euros of which the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) was expected to provide 202 million euros. While in the previous funding round the emphasis was on preparations for implementing the project in Estonia and Latvia, this time around the lion's share of the funds goes to Lithuania.
The European Commission on Friday announced 195 transport projects that are to get a total of 6.7 billion euros from CEF. Projects concerning Estonia were allocated 15 million euros.