ERR News – One proposed route of the Rail Baltic project, which would connect Estonia to other Baltic nations and beyond by high-speed trains, would cut one community in Rapla County in half.
“It would be like the Great Wall of China, which cuts one whole land in half. The straight rail lines cut through active villages and agriculture businesses,” Vahur Tõnissoo, a local resident, told ETV on Tuesday.
Other locals said they are in principle not against the project, which would see trains whizzing past at speeds of up to 240 km/h, but it should not damage functioning communities and businesses.
Rasmus Ruuda, an adviser to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said they will begin talking to local people about different routes in the fall, adding that everyone will be heard, but that unfortunately not all wishes can be fulfilled.
Ruuda said that picking the exact location of the track will be a very complicated task, but added that in the end, the trains must run as directly as possible.
