Baana is a former railway, which has been transformed into a pedestrian and cycling path as an

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, replacing the Helsinki harbour railway. Its length is about 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi), starting from

Kiasma Kiasma is a contemporary art museum located on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki, Finland. Its name ''kiasma'', Finnish for chiasma, alludes to the basic conceptual idea of its architect, Steven Holl. Kiasma is part of the Finnish National Gallery, an ...

. It is used annually by approximately 700 000 cyclists.

History

There were three plans to convert the railway cutting left behind by the disused Helsinki harbour rail to a new use. Of the three plans, the bicycle and pedestrian alternative prevailed in the end. The modification to bike and pedestrian use took several years. The name ''Baana'' (Finnish

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

word for (rail)way coming from Swedish ''bana'' and German ''Bahn'') for the new route was obtained through a naming competition. Baana was opened to the public on Helsinki Day, 12 June 2012.

Course

Baana begins between Helsinki Music Centre and

. It runs to a new separated-grade vehicle/bicycle junction called Länsilinkki (Western Link) near former level crossing of Hietalahdenranta street with a total length of and an average depth of . There are several sloped exits as well as staircase exits for pedestrians. The pedestrian lane has chairs fixed to asphalt. In the wide part near Ruoholahdenkatu sports-related facilities have been provided for

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

and

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. Since 2024, Baana's eastern end connects directly to the Kaisantunneli cycling and pedestrian tunnel underneath

Helsinki Central Station Helsinki Central Station (, ) ( HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. About 200,000 people "pass through the station" every day, half of whom are train passengers. The station serves ...

, and via that to the city's north and eastbound cycling routes.

Impact

Baana provides a speedy way to bike through western Helsinki downtown and adds to non-commercial space in heart of downtown. It has been very popular especially during prime biking season. There is a bike counter which shows bike count for today and for this year. It can also be viewed online. Baana chasm has been used for performances during annual festival Night of the Arts. Baana received a special mention in

European Prize for Urban Public Space The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial award established in 2000 to recognise public space projects. It is organised by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona together with six other European institutions: The Architectu ...

competition in 2014.

Network

The name Baana has later been put in more generic use to describe various cycling paths of comparable quality and also Helsinki's cycling network (''Baanaverkko'') as a whole. As of 2024, none of the new paths connect directly to the original Baana except for the Kaisantunneli underpass, but there are plans such as Mariantunneli and Länsibaana. New Baanas completed or under construction in Helsinki: * Pohjoisbaana (north from

Pasila Pasila (; , ) is a part of Helsinki, Finland, that is both a central-northern Subdivisions of Helsinki, neighbourhood and district, bordering the areas of Alppila to the south, the Central Park (Keskuspuisto) to the west, and Vallila to the east ...

) * Itäbaana (east from

Kalasatama Kalasatama (; ; literally translated "fish port") is a neighbourhood in the city of Helsinki, Finland. The area is officially part of the Sörnäinen district; and like Sörnäinen, Kalasatama is located a little more than one kilometre north fro ...

) * Viikinbaana (in

Viikki Viikki () is a neighbourhood of about 15,000 inhabitants in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at the bottom of ''Vanhankaupunginlahti'' bay, some 7–10 km from the city centre. The district hosts the Viikki Campus with four of the faculties ...

) * Pasilanbaana (in

) * Saaristobaana (from Merihaka over

Crown Bridges The Crown Bridges (, ) is the name given to three bridges under construction in the Finnish city of Helsinki, creating a new tram link and cycle path to the island of Laajasalo. Background The city council of Helsinki decided on 31 August 201 ...

Laajasalo Laajasalo () is a group of islands that forms a Southeast Helsinki's neighbourhood in southern Helsinki, the capital of Finland. As of 2018, it had a population of 18,876. It is Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most popu ...

, Yliskylä and Vartiosaari)

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Kluuvi Kamppi Transport in Helsinki Urban renewal