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Hakaniemi commuter train stations in Helsinki have wait for the loop connection. (Wikiphoto: Credit: Macs24)
Helsinki rail loop plan canceled by government
Published: Fri, 2015-02-27 11:48-
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The next government may say yes
A deeply-divided Finnish cabinet rejected a major new rail network planned for the capital.
The loop would have provided a fast link between Pasila, Töölö, Hakaniemi and the city centre ("Keskusta"). Image: Petteri Juuti / Yle
The government has pulled the plug on long-running plans for a City Rail Loop in Helsinki. Finance Minister Antti Rinne said on Tuesday that the scheme would be halted for now at least because of Parliament has not decided on budgeting for it.
The eight-kilometer teardrop-shaped railway (known in Finnish as 'Pisararata' or 'Drop Track') would have run from the Pasila transport hub through a tunnel via Töölö, Helsinki city centre, Hakaniemi and back to Pasila. This would have linked the national rail grid and the Helsinki Metro with the country’s main airport, ports and sports and concert venues, for instance.
In practice, the plan fell through due to divisions within the four-party government over how to move forward with it – amid pressure for deep budget cuts and with general elections looming less than two months from now.
The decision was formally made at an extraordinary meeting of the Council of State on Tuesday morning. It could be reconsidered by the next government, which is expected to take office in late spring.
Rinne said he was “extremely regretful” that the idea had been skippered. He said it would have been a significant benefit for the capital region and for all of Finland.
According to the Finnish Transport Agency, the line would have “smooth[ed] traffic flow in the whole country”. The agency approved the plan three years ago. The European Union pledged five million euros for Rail Loop planning. The estimated price tag for the whole project was 900 million euros, with a five-year building period.
A new above-ground rail link between the city center and Helsinki Airport in Vantaa is to be completed this summer after a series of delays. The rapidly-growing capital region is home to some 1.4 million people, or more than a quarter of the nation’s population.
Source: Finnish Radio
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Av Markku Björkman
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