Tallinn Baltic Station

Balti jaam
Balti jaam
General information
Location	Toompuiestee 37; Tallinn; Estonia
Coordinates	59°26′23.82″N 24°44′13.74″E / 59.4399500°N 24.7371500°E
System	railway terminus
Owned by	Go Group
Operated by	Go Group
Lines	Elron Tallinn-Tartu-Valga ; Elron Tallinn-Tartu-Koidula ; Elron Tallinn-Narva ; Elron Tallinn-Viljandi ; Elron Tallinn-Aegviidu ; Elron Tallinn-Turba/Paldiski
Platforms	9
Tracks	12
Train operators	Elron
Connections	Buses 2 3 8 21 21B 41 41B 59 66 84 85 91 92 93 94 95 96 ; Trams 1 2 5 ; Regional Buses 102 104A 104B 104C 105 106 106A 106B 106C 114 115 120 120A 121 125 125A 130 131 132 132A 134 135 135A 135C 138 139 141 144 150 151 151A 152 152A 153 154 155 156 157 157A 158 159 160 163 173 174
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Parking	No; spaces for stopping and loading
Cycle facilities	Outdoor bicycle parking next to the station and under the station in a tunnel
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	I
History
Opened	1870
Rebuilt	1960-1966
Electrified	1924 ; 3 kV DC OHLE
Services
International service
Tram services
Location
Location

Baltic Station (Estonian: Balti jaam) is the main railway station in Tallinn, Estonia, and the largest railway station in Estonia.^[3] The majority of trains in Estonia start or terminate at this station.

Baltic Station is located in central Tallinn, and is situated immediately northwest of the city's Old town (Estonian: Tallinna vanalinn). It stands close to a large market called the Baltic Station Market (Balti Jaama Turg).

The first station opened in 1870 when a railway line connecting Saint Petersburg with Paldiski via Tallinn was opened.^[4] The station was completely reconstructed between 1960–1966, and in 2005, the station building was completely renewed.

History

The first railway station in Tallinn was built at the end of the 1860s by the Baltic Railway Company as part of a 400 km (250 mi) long Saint Petersburg-Tallinn-Paldiski railway line. The first main building was completed in 1870. It was a two-storey building constructed from limestone with tower-like extrusions.

During the 1 December 1924 communist coup d'état attempt in Estonia, Karl Kark, the then Minister of Transportation^[5] was assassinated by gunshot by pro-Soviet insurgents at the Tallinn Baltic Station.^[6]

During World War II in 1941, the station building was set on fire by the Soviet Red Army. Shortly after the war, in 1945, the building was partially renovated. During 1960–1966, the station was completely reconstructed. Since the 1990s, the commuter trains 20x20m waiting pavilion has been used as a market. In 2005, the station building was completely renewed and Hotel Shnelli and the headquarters of Estonian Railways (Eesti Raudtee) were completed nearby.

Layout

The station has seven platforms, of which two are situated apart from the rest and have been serving Elron's long-distance route to Viljandi. Platforms closer to the station building are mostly used by the commuter trains or long-distance routes to Tartu or Narva.