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Track gauge in Estonia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Estonia mainly uses a track gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) or 1,524 mm (5 ft), inherited from the Russian Empire times.[1][2]

Russian and 5 ft gauges

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Soviet Union

Estonia converted relatively late from the Soviet Union's redefinition of the gauge from 1,524 mm (5 ft) to 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in).

Post-independence

Since post-independence all renovated tracks owned by Eesti Raudtee have gauge 1,524 mm. Other tracks have gauge 1,520 mm.

Standard gauge proposals

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There has been a proposal from the EU to build a standard gauge railway from Tallinn to Warsaw, the Rail Baltica.[3]

Narrow gauge

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Historically Estonia had 750 mm (2 ft 5+12 in) narrow-gauge installations. The tram network in Tallinn has a track gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in).

References

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  1. ^ "Switching to European track gauge would cost €8.7 billion". ERR. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  2. ^ Burroughs, David (8 September 2022). "Estonian Railways CEO estimates switch to standard gauge would cost €8.7bn". International Railway Journal. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  3. ^ Jacobs, Frank (3 December 2024). "In the Baltics, 85 millimeters separate East from West". Big Think. Retrieved 7 April 2025.