Elron Tartu–Valga

How Estonian trains reach Latvia: the Baltic Railway’s 1887 branch to Valga, built to meet the Riga line, and the Riga train still runs on it.

This is how Estonian trains reach Latvia: the Baltic Railway opened the Tartu–Valga branch in 1887 to meet the Riga–Pskov line then being built, and through trains between Tartu and Riga ran from 1888. Elron’s FLIRTs call at Nõo, Elva, Puka, Keeni and Sangaste on the way, and the Riga service still uses the same rails.

Stations

1. 0 kmTartu +2
2. 2 kmAardla +1
3. 9 kmRopka
4. 16 kmNõo
5. 20 kmTõravere
6. 23 kmPeedu
7. 25 kmElva
8. 38 kmPalupera
9. 47 kmPuka
10. 52 kmMägiste
11. 59 kmKeeni
12. 69 kmSangaste
13. 83 kmValga +1

The stations OpenStreetMap lists for this service, in order, with the distance along the line as drawn here. A train may skip some of them. A +N after a station: N other routes on this map stop or end there, and the map draws it as a station where lines meet.

Along the way

• Elva
• Puka
• Sangaste
• Valga, the town split across the Latvian border

How this line was checked

• Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 14338045 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
• Checked against the running timetable via ÖBB Scotty: our line sits under 100 m from the shape of train 696
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Elron?

The Elron runs 84 km from Tartu to Valga.

How long does the Elron take?

The fastest scheduled journey is 1 h 17 min for the 84 km. That is an average of 65 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 120 km/h.

Who runs the Elron?

Elron, with Stadler FLIRT.

How old is the Elron?

The line has been in service since 1887. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How often does the Elron run?

5× daily.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗