Eesti Raudtee
Eesti Raudtee or EVR is the national railway infrastructure company of Estonia. It owns a network of 691 kilometres (429 mi) of broad gauge (1,524 mm (5 ft)) railway throughout the country, including the 192 kilometres (119 mi) used by the Elron commuter trains around Tallinn. Its sole shareholder is the Government of Estonia.
 | |
| State owned | |
| Industry | Transport |
| Predecessor | Ministry of the Means of Communication of the USSR  |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Tallinn, Estonia |
Area served | Estonia |
| Products | Freight trains |
| Parent | Government of Estonia |
| Website | www.evr.ee |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Tallinn |
| Locale | Estonia |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,524 mm (5 ft)[1] |
| Other | |
| Website | www.evr.ee |
History
After the independence of Estonia, the state-owned company Eesti Raudtee was founded on January 1, 1992, as the national railway company of Estonia. On August 31, 2001, 66% of the stock in the company was sold by the government to Baltic Rail Services, a consortium of Rail World (25.5%), Jarvis (25.5%), Railroad Development Corporation (5%), and OÜ Ganiger Invest, led by Estonian entrepreneurs Jüri Käo and Guido Sammelselg (44%).[2]
In 2002, Eesti Raudtee introduced a new logo along with a corporate identity during its 10th anniversary. The new logo was the two letters "E" and "R" that are coloured red and are merged each other to symbolise the company's name.
Following an election in 2003, the new government changed the rules on open access rights and capped the level of track charges, which reduced the railway's viability. The railway was bought back by the state in a transaction completed in January 2007.[3][4][5] In 2009 two new EVR wholly owned subsidiaries were formed: EVR Infra, responsible for managing the railway infrastructure, and EVR Cargo, which took over the parent company's freight operations.[6] This was to comply with European Union legislation.[7] In 2012 freight operator AS EVR Cargo (renamed Operail in 2018) was separated from Eesti Raudtee and EVR Infra was renamed Eesti Raudtee.[8]
References
- Estonian railways today Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, p. 32
- Baltic Rail Services Completes the Purchase of a Controlling Interest in Eesti Raudtee, Estonian State Railways Railroad Development Corporation 4 September 2001
- Hanson, Martin (2006-09-15). "Raudtee tagasiost sai heakskiidu" (in Estonian). Äripäev. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
- EVR's private interlude is over Archived 2012-05-31 at the Wayback Machine Railway Gazette International February 2007
- Eesti Raudtee Railroad Development Corporation
- "About Estonian Railways". Eesti Raudtee. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- EVR split takes effect Railway Gazette International 27 January 2009
- "History of Estonian Railways Ltd". Eesti Raudtee. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
External links
