EU to support Finnish rail development plans

The EU’s TEN-T Programme will back with almost €2.5 million studies on the railroad development between Pasila (Helsinki) and Riihimäki in southern Finland. The study outcomes will support the construction phase expected to increase the capacity and reliability of the country’s rail transport service.

The Helsinki-Riihimaki railway line is the busiest in Finland in both passenger and freight transport. Currently the line’s capacity does not meet the transport demand, causing delays with a negative impact on the entire Finnish rail network.

This project will come up with a number of rail development plans – including geological studies, measurements and expertise planning – to improve and enlarge the rail line between both cities. It is planned to develop four stations, construct two new freight traffic tracks and double the number of tracks in a current bottleneck section.

The final project’s objective is to improve the competitiveness of rail traffic by reducing the journey length and ensuring sufficient capacity and service level. The planned impact will increase the competitiveness of sustainable transport modes in the national transport system, by transferring freight transport flows from road to rail. The project will also contribute to improving traffic safety, reducing environmental risks and hazards and increasing the overall reliability of the passenger and freight transport services.

The study’s outcomes will feed into decision-making for development consent prior to the construction phase.

The project was selected for EU funding with the assistance of external experts under the TEN-T Multi-Annual Call 2013, Priority Projects. Its implementation will be monitored by INEA, the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency.

The project is to be completed by December 2015.