EST: Eks ta oma nime selle järgi sai, et siia rajati 1896. aastal kitsarööpmeline Valga–Ruhja–Pärnu raudteeliin ja raudteejaam. 1972 aastani oligi ta kitsarööpnemine, siis aga ehitati ümber laiarööpmeliseks. Sellisena toimis raudtee 2008 aastani. Regulaarselt peatus siin jaamahoone ees reisirong 31 jaanuarini 1996, järgmised neli aastat vuhisesid mööda kaubarongid. Siis jäi raudtee seisma kuni ülesvõtmiseni.
Kaotasid töö ka üheksa jaamaga seotud inimest, neli jaamakorraldajat, neli pöörmeseadjat ja jaamaülem. Küla jäi igatsema vedurivilet…
Aga see polnud ainus selle küla tõmbenumber. Viiekümnendatel aastatel kujunes asula Pärnu metsatööstuskeskuse Surju metsapunktiks, oli nii klubi, arstipunkt, pood kui ka postkontor. Haruteele ehitati lisaks kaks tükeldusestakaadi, mille juurde kuulusid neli sorteerimistransportööri, küttepuude lõhkumise masin ja ketassaepink. Taaratsehhi esimene hoone valmis 1961, põhitoodang olid taarakastid ja tünnilauad, kuid tehas suleti 1987, peale mida algas küla hääbumine.
Kui sõidate raudteejaama juurest aarde poole, siis vaadake kindlasti teeäärseid hooneid – näete seitset alates 1954 aastat ehitatud kaheksakorterilist tööliselamut, vaatamisväärsus omaette.
ENG: It likely got its name from the fact that in 1896, the narrow-gauge Valga–Ruhja–Pärnu railway line and a railway station were established here. Until 1972, it remained a narrow-gauge line, but was then converted to a broad-gauge track. In that form, the railway operated until 2008. Passenger trains regularly stopped in front of the station building until January 31, 1996. For the next four years, only freight trains rushed through. After that, the railway came to a standstill until it was eventually dismantled.
Nine people connected to the station lost their jobs — four station attendants, four switch operators, and the stationmaster. The village was left longing for the sound of a train whistle…
But this wasn’t the village’s only attraction. In the 1950s, the settlement became the Surju forestry point of the Pärnu Forest Industry Center. It had a clubhouse, a medical point, a shop, and a post office. On the branch line, two log sorting platforms were built, equipped with four sorting conveyors, a firewood splitting machine, and a circular saw. The first building of the packaging plant was completed in 1961; its main products were crate boxes and barrel staves. The factory closed in 1987, marking the beginning of the village’s decline.
If you drive from the railway station toward final, be sure to look at the roadside buildings — you'll see seven eight-apartment workers' residences built starting in 1954, a unique attraction in their own right.