Train service on the Coastal Railway resumed on Monday after a lengthy hiatus. Traffic west of Leppävaara in Espoo had been replaced by busses for five weeks.
Due to delays in track work, there are still some disruptions in traffic, though. According to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA), work is still being finished up at rail construction sites in Espoo, including tests of safety equipment.
Traffic on the Coastal Railway between Helsinki and Kupittaa in Turku began on Monday with some schedule changes. Long-distance trains resumed operations, but with delays of 15-20 minutes. There may also be delays and other knock-on effects on other long-distance train traffic, state railways VR says.
E trains between Helsinki and Kauklahti in Espoo will not run at all this week, while U and L trains are running with reduced frequency. Y trains between Helsinki and Siuntio are expected to run normally.
The Espoo urban rail project involves the construction of two additional tracks and upgrading of station areas between Leppävaara in eastern Espoo and Kauklahti in western Espoo. From now on, long-distance and local train traffic will run on their own dedicated tracks.
The FTIA pledges that this will result in smoother traffic with fewer disturbances and delays.
There will still be three 48-hour traffic interruptions in August and September and two 24-hour traffic interruptions in late September. Some trains will also be replaced by busses until October.
Turku railway station to relocate twice
Trains from Helsinki to Turku will still only go as far as the Kupittaa station until late 2024. On 5 August, trains connecting Tampere with Turku and the Port of Turku are to begin using new platforms by the Logomo bridge.
The main railway station is moving temporarily to the Logomo building at Junakatu 9. Later it will move permanently to the new LogoHub building, which is to include a multistorey parking garage.
The fate of the old railway station, originally opened in 1876 and rebuilt in 1940, remains unclear.
The prospects of a new higher-speed rail route between Turku and Helsinki also remain uncertain after the EU rejected a funding request for it last week. The overall cost is estimated at 3.4–4 billion euros, reports Turun Sanomat.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation argues that building an entirely new train route would cause massive environmental damage, with only negligible possible benefit in terms of reduced emissions.
