Transport in Estonia relies mainly on road and rail networks.
National roads form the core of Estonian road network. Their total length is 16,489 km (or 28% of all roads), 67% of them are paved. [1] They are divided into 4 classes according to importance:
Number | E-road | Route | Length (km) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
P1 | E20 | Tallinn – Narva | 211 | expressway for 80 km out of Tallinn and 7 km between Kukruse and Johvi. Continues to Saint Petersburg as Russian M11 |
P2 | E263 | Tallinn – Tartu – Võru – Luhamaa | 291 | expressway for 63 km out of Tallinn and 6 km near Mäo. Crosses Estonia in southeast direction from Tallinn to join national road 7 |
P3 | E264 | Jõhvi – Tartu – Valga | 216 | continues from Valga to Riga as Latvian A3 |
P4 | E67 | Tallinn – Pärnu – Ikla | 193 | expressway for 14 km out of Tallinn continues from Ikla to Riga as Latvian A1 |
P5 | Pärnu – Rakvere – Sõmeru | 184 | from Pärnu via Paide to join national road 1 near Rakvere | |
P6 | Valga – Uulu | 125 | from Pärnu via Kilingi-Nõmme to Valga | |
P7 | E77 | Riga – Pskov | 22 | short section in southeast Estonia via Misso, continues as Russian A212 and Latvian A2 |
P8 | E265 | Tallinn – Paldiski | 49 | via Keila, Keila-Paldiski section is part of E 265, which continues on ferry to Kapellskär |
P9 | Ääsmäe – Haapsalu – Rohuküla | 81 | ferry connection from Rohuküla to Hiiumaa | |
P10 | Risti – Virtsu – Kuivastu – Kuressaare | 144 | ferry between Virtsu and Kuivastu (Muhumaa) | |
P11 | E265 | Tallinn ring road | 38 | |
P92 | Tartu – Viljandi – Kilingi-Nõmme | 130 |
Estonia is the first country in the EU and in the world to introduce a nationwide, publicly serviced charging system for charging the batteries of electric vehicles. [2] The 165 fast charging stations are equipped with connectors of the CHAdeMO standard. They are located throughout the entire country, including the islands, and have a maximum distance of 40–60 km in between. The charging stations can also be navigated via a smartphone app (currently only for Android). The relatively dense network and 30 minute quick charges are built to enable a country-wide electric vehicle network. The system offers a unitary booking service and several different tariffs, some of which appear attractively low priced. [3] The charging station network puts Estonia at the forefront in Europe even though Norway actually has a higher penetration of electric vehicles. Estonia has a rate of 1 electric vehicle per 1,000 capita, whereas Norway has 4 EVs per 1,000 capita. [2]
There has been a growing tram network in Tallinn, Estonia since 1888, when traffic was started by horse-powered trams. The first line was electrified on October 28, 1925. The first electric trams were built by Dvigatel, Ltd., in Tallinn before World War II and for some years after that, the last one in 1954. In the 1920s and 1930s gas-powered trams were also used. Since 1955 to 1988 German-built trams were used. In total, there were 20 LOWA T54-B54 trams (in use from February 1955 to March 1977), 11 Gotha T57-B57 (in use from January 1958 to June 1978), 5 Gotha T59E-B59E (in use from June 1960 to February 1980), 14 Gotha T2-62 and B2-62 (in use from 1962 to 1981) and 50 Gotha G4 trams (in use from January 1965 to October 1988) trams. The first Czechoslovakian-built ČKD Tatra T4SU arrived in 1973. The T4SU trams were in use from May 1973 to September 2005 and there were 60 of them. The first KT4SU arrived in Tallinn in 1981 and was first in use on March 10, 1981. In 2007, there are 56 KT4SU, 12 KTNF6 (rebuilt KT4SUs, 10 local, one from Gera and one from Erfurt) and 23 KT4D (12 from Gera, 6 from Cottbus, 1 from Frankfurt (Oder) and 5 from Erfurt) in use. As of 2018, there are four lines: 1 (Kopli-Kadriorg), 2 (Kopli-Ülemiste), 3 (Tondi-Kadriorg) and 4 (Tondi-Lennujaam (Airport)). There have also been lines 5 (Kopli-Vana-Lõuna, shut down in 2004 because of small usage) and 6 (Kopli-Tondi, temporarily used in time of repairs).
Estonia has 45 ports in the State Port Register. With a few exceptions, all of them are on the Baltic Sea.
Largest ports are Muuga (near Tallinn), Tallinn (comprises several ports), Paldiski, Kunda, Pärnu and Sillamäe.
Since 2014, there have been no vessels over 500gt on the Estonian register. About 60 merchant vessels are beneficially owned in Estonia, with most of them registered in Malta. The government has started a drive to bring more of these vessels back into the Estonian register. [4]
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is the largest airport in Estonia.
Currently operating water transport routes:
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km2 (1,032 sq mi). The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island is Kuressaare, which in January 2018 had 13,276 inhabitants. The whole island had a recorded population in January 2020 of 31,435.
Hiiumaa is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within Hiiu County.
Aegna is an Estonian island in the Bay of Tallinn in the Baltic Sea. Administratively it is part of the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and is a sub district of the Kesklinn district.
Saare County is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne County to the east, Hiiu County to the north, and Latvia to the south. In 2022 Saare County had a population of 31,292, which was 2.4% of the population of Estonia.
The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
Ruhnu is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is administratively part of Saare County but is geographically closer to the Latvian mainland. At 11.9 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi), it has currently fewer than 100, mostly ethnic Estonian, permanent inhabitants. Ruhnu Parish has the smallest population of Estonia's 79 municipalities. Before 1944, it was for centuries populated by ethnic Swedes and traditional Swedish law was used.
Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS (TLT) is a transportation company owned by the city of Tallinn, Estonia. TLT is a result of the merger of Tallinn Bus Company and Tallinn Tram and Trolleybus Company in July 2012. The company provides bus, trolleybus, and tram services in Tallinn.
Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of 16.4 km2 (6.3 sq mi) it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. The length of the island is 7 km (4.3 mi) and width 3.3 km (2.1 mi), the highest point is at 8.9 metres (29.2 ft) above sea level.
Ruhnu Parish is a municipality in Saare County, Estonia. It encompasses the island of Ruhnu in the Gulf of Riga, together with a number of uninhabited islets. Its population is the smallest of any of Estonia's 79 municipalities, the parish being exempt from the usual minimum population size of 5000. There are 60 permanent inhabitants during winter time; in summer the number increases to 150. In 2015 the parish council approved Ado Tuuga's designs for the municipality's flag and coat of arms.
Pärnu Airport is an airport in Estonia. The airport is situated 2.4 nautical miles northwest of Pärnu.
The rail transport system in Estonia consists of about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) of railway lines, of which 900 kilometres (560 mi) are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is mostly owned by the state and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority.
Manilaid is a 1.87 km2 (0.72 sq mi) Estonian islet in the Gulf of Riga, located between the island of Kihnu and the mainland's Tõstamaa peninsula. Together with the neighbouring smaller uninhabited islets Sorgu and Annilaid, Manilaid forms the village of Manija. Administratively the village belongs to Tõstamaa Parish in Pärnu County.
The Tallinn offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army's 2nd Shock and 8th armies and the Baltic Fleet against the German Army Detachment Narwa and Estonian units in mainland Estonia on the Eastern Front of World War II on 17–26 September 1944. Its German counterpart was the abandonment of the Estonian territory in a retreat codenamed Operation Aster.
Public transport in Tallinn consists of bus, tram, trolleybus, train and ferry services. Bus, tram and trolleybus routes are mainly operated by Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS. Electric train services are offered by Elron and the ferry service to Aegna island is operated by Kihnu Veeteed.
The history of rail transport in Estonia starts in 1870 when a line was opened connecting Paldiski, Tallinn, Tapa and Narva; the line extending all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia.
Kitseküla is a subdistrict of the district of Kesklinn (Midtown) in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. It has a population of 4,053.
The Tallinn tram network is the only tram network in Estonia. Together with the four-route trolleybus network (et), the four tram lines, with a total length of 19.7 km arranged in a roughly cross-shaped layout, provide a backbone for the public transport network in the Estonian capital. All the routes meet up at Hobujaama in the city centre. Trams are unidirectional, one-sided and single-person operated, and much of the network runs on segregated track.
TS Laevad is an Estonian ferry company which operates two routes between the Estonian mainland and the islands of Hiiumaa and Muhu in the Baltic Sea. Muhu is connected by a causeway to Estonia's largest island, Saaremaa.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Estonia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Laagri railway station is a station in the Nõmme district of Tallinn, Estonia. The railway station serves the Laagri sub-district of Nõmme and Laagri borough of Saue parish which in combination has approximately 6400 residents.