The privatisation of the country's railways, Eesti Raudtee, became increasingly chaotic, as two of four bidders merged their bids and the fate of a third is in limbo.

The privatisation of the country's railways, Eesti Raudtee, became increasingly chaotic, as two of four bidders merged their bids and the fate of a third is in limbo. The two less-successful bidders, according to analysts' predictions, joined their bid: RER, a group of local entrepreneurs, and Sweden's state-owned SJ International. This came days before reports suggested US rail company CSX, seen as a top bidder, is pulling out, due to problems back home, to be replaced in the same Estonian bidding entity by another US company, RailAmerica. No one is sure what exactly is going on legally and technically with both events. The privatisation is to be announced by the end of the year. The other bidder is a joint bid by railway concerns and entrepreneurs in Estonia, Britain and the US.