TALLINN — A number 3 tram arrived at Vabaduse väljak at precisely 14:07 on Wednesday, matching the posted schedule to the minute. It departed 40 seconds later. It was empty.
Seventeen people were waiting at the stop. None of them boarded.
Witnesses say the tram pulled up smoothly, doors opened, and passengers simply stood there. Several checked their phones. One man looked at the tram, then at his phone, then back at the tram, then walked away.
”I thought it must be going somewhere else,” said Tiit, 44, a regular commuter who takes the number 3 every day. “It was too early. Something was wrong with it.”
Tiit waited for the next tram, which arrived eleven minutes late. He boarded immediately.
A woman named Reet, who witnessed the event from across the street, described the scene as “unsettling.” She had seen trams before. She had never seen one on time.
”We don’t have a framework for this,” she said.
Tallinn Transport Authority confirmed the punctual arrival was not a drill. A spokesperson said the driver, one Aivo Kask, had “made good time” due to light traffic and a personal commitment to excellence. Kask could not be reached for comment. He was, reportedly, already ahead of schedule on his next run.
The Transport Authority has no plans to investigate the incident but noted that on-time performance across the network remained at 61 percent, which they described as “adequate.”
The seventeen passengers who missed the tram arrived at their destinations an average of fourteen minutes late. None filed complaints. This was considered normal.
The number 3 tram has since returned to its standard schedule. Officials say there is no reason to expect a repeat occurrence.