Rail Baltica Estonia Signs €9.8M Kantsi Tunnel Contract

TALLINN, Estonia – Rail Baltica Estonia, the City of Tallinn, and construction firm LEONHARD WEISS OÜ signed a EUR 9,826,169 contract on June 16, 2026, for the first phase of the Kantsi Tunnel and basic infrastructure at the future Rail Baltica Ülemiste station. The work will create a new road and pedestrian connection between Lasnamäe and Ülemiste, two districts currently separated by railway tracks with the nearest crossing over 3 km away on Smuuli Road. Completion is scheduled for October 31, 2027.

What Does This Contract Cover?

The contract encompasses earthworks, drainage systems, utility networks, a new passenger platform, access roads, and the first phase of the Kantsi Tunnel beneath the future European-gauge Rail Baltica line. The tunnel will connect Peterburi Road to Suur-Sõjamäe Street, serving pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, and motorists. Currently, crossing at this location is possible only via a pedestrian overpass. The work forms part of a broader EUR 500 million investment planned for the Ülemiste area by Rail Baltic Estonia, Tallinn Airport, and Mainor over the coming years.

Key Contract Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Contracts?

This EUR 9.83 million award represents a small but strategically positioned component of the Rail Baltica programme, whose total estimated cost exceeds EUR 5.8 billion across all three Baltic states. By contrast, the Rail Baltica Riga Central Station construction contract, also involving LEONHARD WEISS as part of a broader consortium, was valued at approximately EUR 430 million. The Ülemiste contract’s scale aligns with preparatory works contracts seen on other European-gauge corridors: Poland’s Solidarity Transport Hub rail component awarded multiple enabling works packages in the EUR 8–15 million range during its 2023–2024 procurement phase. (Source: Rail Baltica Joint Venture, 2024; CPK Programme Data, 2024) The phased structure — with this first tunnel stage completing in 2027 and the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Linda Terminal targeting 2028 — mirrors the incremental delivery model used at major European intermodal hubs such as Vienna Hauptbahnhof and Amsterdam Zuidas. No breakdown of the contract value between station infrastructure and tunnel works was disclosed by the contracting parties.

Note: Comparable 2024–2025 railway contract data denominated in EUR for Baltic-region projects was not available at time of publication for direct benchmarking against this specific award.

Editor’s Analysis

The Kantsi Tunnel contract signals that Rail Baltica’s Estonian segment is transitioning from planning to physical delivery, with LEONHARD WEISS now holding Rail Baltica contracts across all three Baltic states — a rare cross-border contractor footprint on this programme. Global high-speed rail investment trends for 2025 indicate substantial financial commitments concentrated in Asia and Europe, with the Rail Baltica corridor representing the EU’s single largest new-build rail project on the North Sea–Baltic TEN-T axis. (Source: Reuters, Odakyu Railway 2025/26 Results & HAKI Safety/SEK Collaboration Data, 2026) The clustering of EUR 500 million in investment around Ülemiste — combining rail, airport, and commercial development — suggests Estonia is betting on station-area density rather than dispersal, a model that has yielded mixed results at European edge-city terminals but appears calibrated here to Tallinn’s constrained land market.

FAQ

Q: When will the Kantsi Tunnel open to traffic?
A: The first phase of the Kantsi Tunnel is scheduled for completion by October 31, 2027. A full opening date for all transport modes has not been separately confirmed beyond this milestone.

Q: How much is being invested in the Ülemiste area overall?
A: Rail Baltic Estonia, Tallinn Airport, and Mainor plan to invest nearly EUR 500 million in the Ülemiste area. The Kantsi Tunnel and station infrastructure contract represents approximately 2% of that total.

Q: What is the Linda Terminal and when will it be completed?
A: The Linda Terminal is a central element of the Ülemiste development, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. It is scheduled for completion in 2028, one year after the Kantsi Tunnel first phase finishes. The terminal will serve as an integrated transport and commercial gateway adjacent to Tallinn Airport.