State-owned passenger railway company Elektriraudtee has announced that it will be known as Elron from October.
The company currently only caters to Tallinn and neighboring areas, but will take over long-distance lines from January 1, and will use new Stadler diesel trains for routes such as Tallinn to Tartu.
The company said on its webpage today that it needed a name that was easy to pronounce and memorable for both locals and tourists. Whereas "Elektriraudtee" simply means "electric railways," the new name is a fusion of the Estonian words "Eesti liinirongid," translated as "Estonian passenger trains."
Edelaraudtee, the private company currently servicing long-distance lines in the country, has taken the state to court, demanding 5 million euros compensation for the premature termination of its contract and disputing the decision to hand those lines to Elektriraudtee, soon Elron, effectively re-nationalizing the rail passenger service.
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