Rail Baltic

The planned railway line runs from Tallinn to Iklani through Harju, Rapla, and Pärnu counties in Estonia. According to the established county plans, the railway infrastructure and its service facilities cover more than 1,264 registered immovable properties, of which 234 belong to the state, 88 to municipalities, and 942 to private owners.

In accordance with the cooperation agreement concluded on 6 September 2016 between the Ministry of the Environment, the Land Board, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Land and Spatial Development Board is responsible for land acquisition. From July 1, 2023, the development of the railway infrastructure will be coordinated by the Ministry of Climate instead of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The main structural unit participating in the project is the Land and Spatial Development Board of MaRu.

More detailed information about the Rail Baltic project is available on the Rail Baltic website.

Land and Spatial Development Board carries out land acquisition on the basis of established county plans, preliminary and basic railway projects, and detailed plans for specific sites.

The county plans for Harju, Rapla, and Pärnu counties for determining the location of the Rail Baltic railway corridor were established by the Minister of Public Administration in 2018. The county plan for the southern part of Pärnu is still being prepared.

County plan information

Location of the railway corridor in the established county plans (select the "Rail Baltic route" map layer in the theme layer panel)

Land acquisition as of 08.10.2025

Land acquisition is carried out on the basis of the Law on Acquisition of Real Estate in the Public Interest (KAHOS).

• Land acquisition begins with the sending of an acquisition notice to the landowner.
• A meeting is arranged between the landowners and the project team to explain the project solution, clarify the landowner's wishes, and discuss the state's ability to offer alternatives.

• An inventory and assessment of the growing forest is commissioned and an offer is made by the state.

• At the same time as the assessment, land management work is commissioned to divide the part of the immovable property to be acquired.
• During the negotiations, the landowners' objections are heard and explanations are provided. If necessary, a meeting is held with the landowner and the land appraiser to discuss the conclusions of the expert assessment.
• If the landowner does not agree with the state's offer, they can commission a comparative expert assessment.

Land acquisition

The state generally purchases only the part of a privately owned plot of land that is necessary for public purposes. If the division of the acquired part results in small and irregularly shaped plots that the landowner cannot use for any practical purpose in the future, the state will also purchase these parts.

If an agreement is reached on monetary acquisition, the landowner will be paid, in addition to the market value, compensation for any associated financial loss in justified cases, as well as additional compensation provided for by law, i.e. a motivation fee of 20% of the price of the land necessary in the public interest, and compensation for administrative expenses in the amount of 16 hours' gross salary.

Simple land consolidation

If the privately owned plot of land to be acquired borders on state-owned land, the landowner may, if interested, be offered a land consolidation exchange with the state. In the course of land consolidation, the part of the privately owned land to be acquired by the state is replaced with a part of state-owned land.

This changes the boundaries of the land plot, but preserves its integrity. Parts of the land parcels of several landowners can be exchanged in such a way that the land of one owner remains on one side and the land of another owner on the other side of the new infrastructure.

Land consolidation is based on the usual value of the exchanged land parcels and no additional compensation is paid to the landowner.

Exchange of land parcels

If a significant portion of the land parcel to be acquired is separated and meets the criteria for independent immovable property, the state may, if it is in the interest of the landowner and possible for the state, offer exchange land, i.e., another land parcel belonging to the state, in exchange for the land parcel to be acquired. Plots of land with the same intended use and located in a similar market area can be exchanged. The purpose of the exchange is to replace the part of the plot of land being acquired with another plot of land that is as similar as possible.

The exchange land is formed on the basis of the market value of the plot of land being acquired. If the land offered as exchange land cannot be divided for land management purposes, it may be given as exchange land if the difference in value between the plots of land is less than 30%. No incentive payment is paid for the exchange, but an administrative fee of 16 hours' gross salary is added.

Division of immovable property in the case of partial acquisition

• In the case of partial acquisition of immovable property, Land and Spatial Development Board has the right to perform all actions related to the division of immovable property and changes to its boundaries on behalf of the owner of the immovable property, which do not involve the exchange of parts, and to submit applications.
• The landowner shall be notified of the land consolidation procedure, but the landowner's consent to the division is not required.
• Even if the landowner does not agree to transfer the immovable property to the state, the party conducting the procedure, i.e. the Land and Spatial Development Board, has the right to perform all actions related to the division of the immovable property and the alteration of its boundaries and to submit applications on behalf of the landowner.