According to Rail Baltic Estonia, this is currently just a test. The decision on whether to start transporting oil shale to Pärnu in large volumes will be made next year.
Freight trains have not been running to Pärnu for several years. However, in December, Pärnu residents could see freight trains at the freight station a couple of times. The company Operail is testing oil shale transport from Ida-Virumaa. It is hoped that this will be used for the construction of Rail Baltica in Pärnu next year.
The test shipments are necessary to work out the technology before starting mass transportation. The first two trains were very successful. One train carries approximately 2000 tons of oil shale. The test run will deliver around 10,000 tons of oil shale gravel in total. This will be used to construct access roads for the route.
More test shipments will be made in the coming weeks. Rail Baltic Estonia portfolio manager Janar Tükk says the company has not yet made a final decision on whether to start transporting oil shale next year.
We are currently testing how to bring this oil shale from Ida-Virumaa. It will be brought to the Pärnu terminal five times. This material will be used to create a test section at Rääma bog. This will test how it works there and the supply chain in general. This will help decide whether it is suitable for the project solution.
Oil shale can be an alternative to materials obtained from quarries. However, the decision to transport it to Pärnu in large volumes depends on several factors. The decision will be made before June.
Large-scale construction work on the Tootsi-Pärnu section will begin in June. Before that, a decision must be made on whether to use oil shale. The decision also depends on how local quarries can provide the material. Finally, the price also influences the decision – whether oil shale is competitive on the market.