26.11.2025
The construction of Rail Baltica in Pärnu County is entering a new, more visible phase as survey teams, access road builders and designers have gathered in Tori Municipality to prepare for extensive embankment and facility construction work that will begin next spring.
This section is being built within the framework of Alliance 1 – a joint team of Rail Baltic Estonia, Merko Ehitus Eesti, GRK, NGE Contracting, TSO SAS and Sweco, which is responsible for the Ülemiste–Pärnu and Tootsi–Pärnu sections. Working in parallel, Alliance 2 is building the main route from Pärnu to the Latvian border. The alliance model, borrowed from Scandinavian infrastructure projects, brings together designers and builders already at the initial stage of the works, with the aim of shortening construction time and reducing cost risk.
Construction nights began in November
The first signs of large-scale activity were visible in Tori municipality in November, when geological and topographic surveys began along the entire route. Geological surveys and geodetic profile mapping are necessary to determine the contours and water regime of the route in a technically complex area where many environmental conditions must be taken into account.
At the same time, the construction of maintenance and access roads has begun so that heavy machinery can reach otherwise inaccessible forest and bog landscapes. The first of these – the Kivisilla–Oti maintenance road – is already under construction and its construction will continue until January. A second access has been opened in the Rääma bog, where temporary platforms will be built to conduct pile tests, which is a prerequisite for the construction of substructures. Local roads agreed with the municipality and RMK forest roads will be used for the work.
The Jaama Street light rail road, which is located on the border of the Pärnu district, is one of the most visible parts of the southern works in Tori rural municipality. The design of the light rail road is already underway and the works are on schedule: the construction will be completed in half a year, by the end of May 2026. The road is a prerequisite for the start of large-scale transport works, as the agreed temporary logistical movement corridor can be used for the construction of the Rail Baltica route through it, without disturbing the residents of the area or creating excessive additional burden on the traffic on Jaama Street.
The design of several large structures in Tori municipality – for example, the Timmermann and Orasselja viaducts – is in its final stages. The first extensive earthworks will probably begin in early 2026, after construction permits have been obtained and access roads have been completed. The most time-critical object is the construction of a bridge over the Pärnu River, where work is only allowed during a very limited period each year, from June 15 to September 29, in order to protect the environment. A completely new bridge will be built on the Pärnu River on the Rail Baltica route for train traffic only, the existing bridges will not be demolished. The alliance plans to start the construction of bridge piers on the river as soon as possible in 2026 in order to stay on schedule – train traffic between Tallinn and Warsaw will open in 2030.
The availability of materials is becoming an increasingly important issue in the construction preparation. Local quarries are unable to produce the required quantity of material for the bearing layer of the embankment. One option is to use quarry waste, which should be mixed with quartz sand. The crushed stone suitable for the superstructure of the high-speed railway – the one that is directly under the rails and sleepers – is not available in Estonia and will have to be imported, most likely from Finland or Sweden. The shallow draft of the port of Pärnu limits the entry of larger ships, which is why alternative logistics solutions are being evaluated.
Opportunities for local entrepreneurs
At a meeting with residents of Tori rural municipality on November 24, it was discussed that the acceleration of Rail Baltica construction in the region is taking place at a time when the Estonian construction market is already under pressure due to other national infrastructure projects – the same region where construction of the next stages of Via Baltica will also begin. The meeting noted that the availability of several types of heavy equipment — especially bulldozers and road rollers — is already limited, and the shortage of local labor will worsen in 2026, when the central part of the main route enters large-scale construction. It is possible that foreign labor will again have to be used, which will give local small businesses the opportunity to provide them with accommodation and food during the construction period.
Tori municipality will receive train service again
In addition to international high-speed trains that stop in Tallinn and Pärnu in Estonia, the route also has local stops, and Tori will once again receive a train connection. Regional train traffic on the Rail Baltica route will also start in 2030, and Elron will procure five new trains to service the line. Platforms and railway facilities at the Tori rural municipality stop in Urgel and the Tootsi stop in Northern Pärnu County will be completed by the end of 2028. A separate tender will also be announced to find a builder for the stop building, as well as for the construction of a parking lot and passenger access roads.
Although local mobility will improve significantly after the railway is completed, traffic management will be a concern for residents of Tori parish during the construction period. No complete road closures are planned in Tori parish, and any changes to traffic management will be announced in good time: temporary detours and short-term changes will be used during the works, and traffic will remain open throughout the construction period.
Starting in the summer of 2026, Tori municipality will become an active construction area, which, in addition to temporary restructuring, will bring new jobs to the area and increase its attractiveness.
The article was first published on November 25, 2025 as a content marketing story in Õhtuleht.
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