Additional bus service will operate between Valga and Tartu until June in response to reduced transport links following the launch of a direct train service from Tartu to Riga.
Valga-Tartu Transport Adjustments
Trains between Valga and Tartu will see increased frequency next year, though summer schedules will be affected by ongoing repair work. On Friday morning, a train arriving at Valga station from Riga continued to Tallinn with a five-minute delay, disembarking approximately two dozen passengers in Valga.
However, the Riga connection is an extension of the Tallinn–Valga line, and one morning train from Valga to Tartu experienced a two-hour delay, causing inconvenience for commuters, according to Valga County local government leaders. Elron statistics indicate that passenger numbers on the route were previously low, with fewer than 30 boarding at Valga station in November and an average of 37 arriving in Tartu.
“Local government leaders and our people point out that since we have fewer residents here, the number of passengers is also going to be smaller. Every person is important and ought to be taken into account,” said Ivar Unt, head of the Valga County Public Transport Center.
The Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, in cooperation with Valga County, agreed to launch a trial bus service between Valga and Tartu, running from March 1 to June 10.
“In order to ensure everyone who has been using this train line can continue to travel, we are launching a bus service that departs from Valga in the morning and arrives in Tartu at 8:45 a.m. It will stop at the destinations where people previously boarded the train,” said Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras. “We will be doing this until the start of the school break. If the line is successful, we will continue with it until we can bring the trains back at the same times they ran at before they were taken away.”
Elron’s new electric trains, expected in a year, will allow for adjustments to the diesel train schedule between Valga and Tartu. “We have to have a little patience because there will be railway repairs in the summer. However, from 2027, we will have seven connections instead of five, and there will also be a train returning that arrives in Tartu at 9 a.m.,” said Valga Mayor Mart Kase. “This is a big win for Valga, as it will allow our people to go to work in Tartu. It will also encourage more people to come and live here when they see that there are so many convenient connections.”
The direct train between Tartu and Riga has been operating for a month, with an average of under 30 passengers per trip. Ticket sales in Latvia have recently begun. “This is quite expected – we assumed that it would be slow at the start and then gradually grow. But we have had days when more than 30 passengers have boarded in Riga,” said Elron Board Chair Lauri Betlem.
Railway infrastructure renovations planned for the summer by Eesti Raudtee are likely to cause disruptions to both the Valga and Riga connections from Tartu.
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