Financing of Ring Rail Line secured - work to start in the spring

The Finnish Parliament has decided on the state contribution to financing of Ring Rail Line. The budgeted sum amounts to €400 million. The overall costs of the Ring Rail Line project are estimated at €590 million. The financing is divided between the state and the City of Vantaa (€186 million).

Construction work begins with excavation of maintenance tunnels in April - May 2009. Ring Rail Line will be taken into use in mid-2014. The Ring Rail Line project is headed by the Finnish Rail Administration (RHK). Partners consist of the City of Vantaa, Finnish Road Administration, and Finavia.

Ring Rail Line constitutes an important cross-rail connection, included in the overall traffic system of the metropolitan area. It is also a rail connection to the Helsinki - Vantaa International Airport, as well as a major urban rail that potentially attracts 200,000 daily mass-transit passengers and 200,000 jobs. Its implementation covers the rail, stations, street and commuter parking arrangements, road arrangements, Tikkurila Travel Center, as well as road arrangements required by Ring Rail Line, the biggest of which is developing Hämeenlinnanväylä (highway 3) in Kivistö, Marja-Vantaa's central area.

Through the airport, Ring Rail Line links Vantaankoski Line with the main line. In the initial stage, four new stations will be built along the line: Kivistö, Aviapolis, Airport, and Leinelä. There are four additional station reservations: Vehkala, Petas, Viinikkala, and Ruskeasanta.

During rush hours, trains along Ring Rail Line run at 10-minute intervals in both directions and stop at every station. The fastest travel time from Helsinki to the Airport is around 30 minutes. Passengers from the north, heading to the airport, change trains at Tikkurila station from which it only takes eight minutes to reach the airport.

The number of passengers at the new stations in 2025 is estimated to amount to 5,000 - 16,000 per weekday. Kivistö and Airport stations will bear the biggest volumes.

The two-rail Ring Rail Line is 18 kilometers long. It descends into a tunnel to the south of the airport's runway 1 and passes under the airport. The line resurfaces in Ruskeasanta, to the east of Tuusula road. The total length of the tunnel is seven kilometers, including the Aviapolis and Airport stations as well as the Ruskeasanta station reservation.

For further information, go to: www.keharata.fi