State backs Pelguranna tram line if route meets conditions

Estonia’s Climate Ministry will support directing European Union funds to build Tallinn’s Pelguranna tram line along a new Putukaväil route, provided the city meets a set of conditions, ERR reported. Tallinn must answer the ministry’s questions by October 14.

An analysis commissioned by the ministry found that the revised route would serve about 45 percent fewer residents within 200 metres of a stop and about 30 percent fewer within 400 metres than the earlier route along Puhangu Street.

Despite the difference, the ministry has agreed to let the city continue with the design work, Climate Minister Kuldar Leis said.

“The study said that having a tram line is better than not having one, and therefore supports building it. But it also said that the old route was clearly better than the new one,” Leis, a member of Eesti 200, said. “Since the first conclusion was that it is better to build the tram line, our decision is that Tallinn can move forward as quickly as possible.”

Leis said the state could not choose the route on the city’s behalf, but could assess whether the project was feasible.

The nine questions Tallinn must answer concern connections with Puhangu and Ehte streets, priority for pedestrians and links between the tram line and other modes of transport at the terminus on Kolde Boulevard.

The ministry’s main concern is not whether the city can provide substantive answers, Leis said, but whether it can complete the project by the end of 2029, the deadline for using the European funds.

“The greatest risk in creating the tram line is whether it will be ready by the end of 2029,” Leis said, pointing to Tallinn’s record with planning procedures, construction permits and other bureaucratic processes.

If Tallinn fails to meet the conditions by the autumn or abandons the project because of additional work, the funds will be directed to other sustainable transport projects. Leis said the state had an action plan for that scenario.

The ministry will review Tallinn’s responses with an assessment committee and will tell the city by early November at the latest whether the new route meets the conditions.

In the negative scenario, tram funding will be allocated, based on applications received at the end of October, among Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu for cycleways and pedestrian tunnels.