A new international passenger rail service between Estonia and Latvia was formally introduced on 5 January with an inaugural run on the Tallinn–Tartu–Riga route. The first train departed from Tartu Railway Station, ahead of the launch of regular scheduled services planned for 12 January.
The ceremonial run was attended by representatives of the Estonian and Latvian governments, local authorities along the route, passenger rail operators and tourism sector organisations. The train made planned stops in Tartu, Elva, Valga, Valmiera, Cēsis, Sigulda and Riga, where short station events were held. No tickets were sold for the inaugural journey and no additional passengers were taken on board.
From 12 January, the Tallinn–Tartu–Riga service will operate according to a fixed timetable. The travel time between Tartu and Riga is 3 hours and 41 minutes, while the full Tallinn–Riga journey takes 5 hours and 56 minutes. Services will be operated using a two-car Stadler Flirt diesel train.
The direct service builds on existing cross-border rail cooperation. Since January 2025, a once-daily passenger connection with transfers has been operating between Tallinn, Tartu, Valga, Riga and Vilnius, involving Elron, Latvian operator Vivi and Lithuanian operator LTG Link. An additional weekend connection between Tallinn, Tartu and Riga was introduced in September 2025.
Tallinn–Tapa line enters service with electric trains
Passenger rail services within Estonia were also expanded with the opening of the Tallinn–Tapa line on 4 January. Regular Elron operations on the route started on 5 January, with new Škoda electric trains running six times a day in each direction.
The introduction of the line followed the completion of the overhead contact network between Aegviidu and Tapa. As part of the timetable change, several Tallinn–Aegviidu services were extended to Tapa, increasing the number of daily departures between Tallinn and Tapa from 17 to 23.
