TALLINN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Estonia has rerouted freight trains through the Narva rail border crossing after Russia temporarily suspended operations at a railway border checkpoint linking the two countries, local media reported on Wednesday.
The Russian government on Tuesday announced the temporary suspension of border checkpoints with Finland, Latvia, and Estonia starting July 1. The measure includes the Pechory-Pskovskie checkpoint on the Russian side of the Estonian border, which corresponds to the Koidula crossing in Estonia.
Artur Raichmann, commercial director of the state-owned railway infrastructure company Eesti Raudtee, told ERR Radio News that the decision came as a surprise because the Estonian side had received no prior notification from Russia.
According to Raichmann, two freight trains were affected by the closure of the rail border crossing and will be redirected through the Narva rail border crossing. He said the Narva and Koidula border crossings are technically interchangeable, allowing rail traffic to continue without major disruption.
Raichmann said the immediate operational impact would be limited, as only an average of 0.3 to 0.4 freight trains cross Estonia's eastern rail border per day. However, he described the uncertainty such decisions create for long-term logistics projects as a greater challenge.
In recent years, Estonia has sought to expand rail freight links with Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. ■