Rail Baltica to build largest rolling stock depot in the Baltics by 2028
Strategic Estonian facility will centralise maintenance, create skilled jobs and support long-term railway reliability.
www.railbaltica.org
Rail Baltic Estonia has announced a major construction procurement for a new rolling stock depot to be built in Rae municipality, Harju County, with completion targeted for the end of 2028. The facility will serve as a strategic infrastructure hub for Rail Baltica, concentrating all rolling stock maintenance, repair and operational functions in Estonia.
Planned for the Soodevahe area, the depot will become the largest rolling stock maintenance facility in the Baltic region. The procurement covers both detailed design and construction of the depot building, including internal service platforms. Tenders are due by 10 March 2026, with contract signing planned by the end of April. Construction is scheduled for completion by 31 December 2028. The estimated procurement value is €41.3 million (excluding VAT).
According to Lauri Ulm, Technical Director and Member of the Management Board at Rail Baltic Estonia, the depot is critical to the future operation of Rail Baltica. He noted that the facility will enable the simultaneous servicing of up to six high-speed trains or twelve regional trains, while bringing together all rolling stock lifecycle activities—from maintenance and repair to washing and operational readiness—under one roof. The project is also expected to create 150–200 permanent, highly skilled jobs, establishing the depot as a key competence centre for rolling stock maintenance across the Baltics.
The depot design comprises two main volumes: a central maintenance hall housing all servicing and repair functions, and a three-storey administrative block. Inside the building, eight tracks are planned, including six maintenance and service tracks with a total usable length of 1,380 metres. Additional facilities include a dedicated train wash and a wheel lathe track for wheelset profiling.
The outdoor area will feature six further service tracks for cleaning, equipping and parking trains, giving the overall site a servicing capacity comparable to that of the indoor facility.
Estonia’s national passenger rail operator, Elron, will be the first user of the depot, operating under a lease agreement for depot access and related services.
The design contract for the depot was awarded in 2020 to a joint bid by OÜ Reaalprojekt and NORD PROJEKT AS. Subject to the procurement proceeding as planned, construction will begin at the end of 2026, with handover to Rail Baltic Estonia scheduled for the end of 2028.
www.railbaltica.com
