Analytics, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Transport
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 29.03.2024, 00:48
EU Directorate: Estonia has the most environmentally unfriendly new vehicle fleet in the EU (with comments from the RB Rail )
Main current issues in Estonia Issue
Key facts and figures on transport in Estonia
Modal split
The introduction of free public transport in the capital
Tallinn where one third of the population lives, has increased the use of
public transport by 13 %. In general, buses and coaches remain the main form of
public transport with 20 % share of total passenger transport. The use of
passenger cars is below the EU average. The modal split in freight land
transport is also favourable with only 47.6 % road transport as compared to
71.7% of EU average. Modal split for passenger and freight transport in 2015
Source: EU Transport in figures, Statistical Pocketbook 2017.
Performance of the logistics sector
The World Bank Logistics performance index for Estonia has improved compared to 2010, with Estonia being in 38th position in 2016 compared to 43rd in 2010 and 65th in 2012. Estonia is performing best in timeliness and customs and worst in international shipments. For infrastructure, logistics competence and tracking and tracing, Estonia ranks between 44th and 48th globally.
Road safety
In 2016, there were about 54 road fatalities per million
inhabitants in Estonia. However, provisional data for 2017 shows an impressive
decrease of 32% on fatalities compared to 2% for the EU average. Fatalities in
rural areas are highly over-represented in Estonia compared to the EU average.
The share of pedestrian fatalities is significantly higher than the EU average
(31% versus 21%). Speeding has increased on high speed rural roads in Estonia,
as well as the percentage of speed offenders. The alcohol limit of 0.2‰ in
Estonia is lower than the common limit of 0.5‰ in the EU.
Alternative fuels in
road transport
Between 2012 and 2014, Estonia built up a nationwide network
of fast-charger stations in the framework of the Electro-Mobility Programme.
However, the number of registered new alternative fuel vehicles declined
significantly between 2014 and 2015 after abolition of a support scheme
demonstrating that without the direct support for buying the specialised
vehicles, the take up of either electric or bio-methane run vehicles is
unlikely to be considerable. The Electro-Mobility Programme helped to introduce
slightly more than 1000 cars into circulation. SOURCE: EUROPEAN ALTERNATIVE FUELS
OBSERVATORY (BEV = battery electric vehicle; PHEV = plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle; CNG = compressed natural gas).
Market opening in the
railway sector
As regards the market
share of all but principal rail undertakings as an indicator of access to market
for new commercial operators, in rail freight Estonia has an average share
compared to other Member States. On the other hand, in passenger rail transport
all operations are run by a state-owned enterprise since January 2014. This
marks a re-nationalisation of the sector after previous market opening. 46 |
Transport in the EU: Current Trends and Issues
Share of renewable
energy in transport
The current level of renewables in transport remains at
0.4%. Estonia is unlikely to reach its 10% target share of renewable energy in
transport by 2020. Estonia amended the Liquid Fuel Act with the aim to
incentivise biofuels and is promoting the use of bio-methane in public
transport trough requirements in public transport concession tenders. Excise
tax policy is also used to promote LPG and bio-methane use
Quality of the
transport infrastructure in Estonia
Compared to many other Member States that joined since 2004,
Estonia ranks highly in the World Economic Forum’s ranking of infrastructure
quality. In particular, the port infrastructure is considered to be of high
quality. The airport infrastructure, which was very low in the past, has
improved a lot since 2014. The destinations directly accessible from Tallinn
international airport are increasing, waiting times are short and the airport
is well connected via public transport. Tallinn airport is one of the first
airports in Europe with a tram connection to the city centre. The overall trend
for the quality of land transport infrastructure is positive since 2011. This
is despite Estonia having no highways and only limited km of two-lane road.
Overall progress of improving the secondary road infrastructure is slow. While
the passenger railways have considerably improved in recent years, there are
still only limited connections. Graph Source: World Economic Forum, The Global
Competitiveness Report. The bars represent the rank of the country compared to
the rest of the world, while the lines represent the quality scores in a scale
from 1 to 7.
Comments from the RB Rail
“The Grant Agreement for the EUR 129 million allocated to the Baltic States through the third Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) was signed on 13 July 2018. The total value of the Agreement is nearly 130 mln EUR while the CEF contribution will be of a maximum amount of 110 million EUR which is 85% of total eligible costs,” "Transport in the European Union - Current Trends and Challenges" conclusions comments Ignas Degutis, Chief Financial Officer and Member of the Management Board AS RB Rail.
“The funding will be used for construction activities in Lithuania on Kaunas–Lithuanian/Latvian border section, including to build a bridge over Neris river and access roads over the line, and to start construction preparatory works on the Pärnu–Latvian border section in Estonia. In addition, the funds will allow to design railway section Upeslejas to the Vangaži maintenance facilities in Latvia. Furthermore, CEF Agreement includes the consolidation of the preliminary technical design for the entire railway line. A number of studies will be carried out, amongst many, focusing on consolidated procurement and economies of scale, supplier market assessment and deployment strategies,” he added.