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4rail.net - Reference - Finland - Infrastructure | |
 Finnish national infrastructure and international connections Finnish railroad infrastructure has developed in the recent years especially with additions to 3 categories: 1) High speed Rail updates, new track and existing track upgrades 2) Helsinki Metropolitan rail upgrades and additions to the network 3) Freight railroad additions and upgrades While there always seems to be a lot going on, the money spent is minimal compared to any of the larger coutries. And in the meantime there is discussion about closing down some of the networks with just minor traffic. International connection of Finnish networks are inadequate due to geography: to south and west the connections are limited by seas, connections to the north are nonexistent since there are few tracks in the wilderness. Existing connections are to east to Russia and to the west in the north with Sweden (gauge change would be necessary when crossing the Swedish border). In addition to these there have often been railroad equipped ferries to connect with the Central European networks (gauge change again necessary between 1524 mm and 1435 mm).   To the top of the page
Finnish National Infrastructure Projects and Plans There are several smaller ongoing projects:
Largest project in the recent years was the new high speed track between kerava and Lahti (easing connections between Helsinki and Lahti and to east of Finland as well as St Petersburg in Russia). To the top of the page
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Projects The largest of the currently ongoing projects is the "ring track" connecting the center of Helsinki with the Helsinki Airport. The new track will also enable building of new suburbs and connect the two existing tracks creating a "ring". Another important project under way extends the Helsinki Metro west to Espoo. Future projects:
To the top of the page
International: Helsinki - Tallinn Railroad Tunnel The tunnel to connect the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn has long been in the thoughts on both sides. While there are good connections by boat between the cities, these connections are slow, since the cities are located some 82 kilometers apart. The rock foundation for the tunnel would be solid granite, relatively easy to build and long lasting. The cost of building is estimated to be between 2 and 3 billion euros, while the real cost might be double. In addition, it might be difficult to make the tunnel economically profitable in the short and medium period. Given some time it is sure that the tunnel will be both economically sound and seen as historical turning point with connecting Finland with the rest of the Europe (practical connections are now mainly by sea or air). With the tunnel Helsinki - Berlin on the fast train connection on the Rail Baltica would only take 5 hours (including the gauge change on the Lithuanian - Polish border). This would bring the less energy consuming rail travel within the boundaries of challenging the air travel and with overnight connections to cities like Frankfort, Strasbourg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Munich, Wien,... There has been strong support first from the retired director of the City of Helsinki Martti Asunmaa, with Baltirail society and recently by the mayors of the two cities, on the Finnish side by Jussi Pajunen. The first target is to raise 0,8 million euros to research the further options on the tunnel link. The ongoing economical depression has stopped further considerations for a while, but in 5-10 years this subject is sure to emerge again. Anyway, to further merge Finland to the EU the tunnel will be needed, sooner or later, hopefully mostly with the EU funding. It only seems unfair, that projects in Italy or Spain get 70% EU funding while many North European projects only get 10-20% EU funding! Are the North Europeaners so poor negotiators compared with the talkative Italians or Spanish? To the top of the page
 Finnish reference main page
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Created for 4rail.net by John McKey. Pictures by Hannu Luukannel, Hannu Peltola, Ilkka Siissalo, Sanna Siissalo, Stanislav Voronin and John McKey.  See also these pages!  Finnish Railroads Main Page, a great place to start browsing this section.  Finnish railroad organizations and railroad operators have their own pages, as well as the largest operator VR-Yhtyma and a newcomer to the field Junakalusto.  While much of the passenger traffic concentrates around the capital Helsinki, you might be interested in the roster pictures of VR-Yhtyma, Junakalusto and the city of Helsinki operator HKL. HKL operates the metro, buses and narrow gauge trams.   You might also like to see the Finnish Rolling Stock Classes Page or the Rolling Stock Heritage Classes Page!   The Finnish Infrastructure Page gives you details on the railroad projects of past, present and the future. Finnish Railroad History Page describes the beginnings of Finnish railroading.  Finnish location is quite challenging for the railroading, the European Union Railroading Page and the Rail Baltica Page shed light to this subject.  Russians in Finland Page brings you some of the exotic Russian models, many still dating back to the Soviet period.  Last but not least, Take a virtual tour with a Finnish heritage locomotive Vr1 / "Chicken". This story was brought to 4rail.net by Hannu Peltola. |
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