Transport in Estonia


Transport in Estonia relies mainly on road and rail networks.

Roads

National roads form the core of Estonian road network. Their total length is 16,489 km, 67% of them are paved. They are divided into 4 classes according to importance:
NumberE-roadRouteLength Notes
Tallinn – Narva211expressway for 80 km out of Tallinn and 7 km between Kukruse and Johvi.
Continues to Saint Petersburg as Russian M11
Tallinn – Tartu – Võru – Luhamaa291expressway for 40 km out of Tallinn and 6 km near Mao.
Crosses Estonia in southeast direction from Tallinn to join National Road 7
Jõhvi – Tartu – Valga216continues from Valga to Riga as Latvian A3
Tallinn – Pärnu – Ikla193expressway for 14 km out of Tallinn
continues from Ikla to Riga as Latvian A1
Pärnu – Rakvere – Sõmeru184from Pärnu via Paide to join National Road 1 near Rakvere
Valga – Uulu125from Pärnu via Kilingi-Nõmme to Valga
Riga – Pskov22short section in southeast Estonia via Misso, continues as Russian A212 and Latvian A2
Tallinn – Paldiski49via Keila, Keila-Paldiski section is part of E 265, which continues on ferry to Kapellskär
Ääsmäe – Haapsalu – Rohuküla81ferry connection from Rohuküla to Hiiumaa
Risti – Virtsu – Kuivastu – Kuressaare144ferry between Virtsu and Kuivastu
Tallinn Ring Road38
Tartu – Viljandi – Kilingi-Nõmme130

Electric vehicle network

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. 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. 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. 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 1000 capita, whereas Norway has 4 EVs per 1000 capita.

Railways

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, 11 Gotha T57-B57, 5 Gotha T59E-B59E, 14 Gotha T2-62 and B2-62 and 50 Gotha G4 trams 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 and 23 KT4D in use. As of 2018, there are four lines: 1, 2, 3 and 4. There have also been lines 5 and 6.

Ports and harbours

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, Tallinn, Paldiski, Kunda, Pärnu and Sillamäe.

Merchant marine

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.

Airports

Airports – with paved runways

Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport is the largest airport in Estonia.

Pipelines

Currently operating water transport routes: