Espoo railway station (, ) is a railway station in the district of

Espoon keskus Espoon keskus ( Finnish for ''Espoo Centre'', ) is the central district of Espoo, the second biggest city of Finland and the administrative centre with the city hall of Espoo. The areas of Kiltakallio, Kirkkojärvi, Saarniraivio, Suna, Suvel ...

in the city of

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is between the stations of Tuomarila and

Kauklahti Kauklahti ( Finnish) or Köklax ( Swedish, alternative spelling ''Köklaks'', old Finnish ''Kaukalaksi'') is a district of Espoo, in the Greater Helsinki area of Finland. Kauklahti is growing fast and in 2006 hosted The Finnish Housing Fair. ...

, about from the

Helsinki Central railway station Helsinki Central Station (, ) (List of IATA-indexed railway stations, 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 ar ...

. An extension of the Leppävaara urban rail has been proposed to reach the Espoo station to be able to increase local train traffic on the Rantarata railway line (Helsinki–Turku) tracks between Helsinki and Espoo.

History

The Rantarata railway line was originally meant to be built so that it would have run close to the

Espoo Cathedral Espoo Cathedral (, ) is a medieval parish church and cathedral in Espoo, Finland. It is the seat of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of Espoo, established in 2004. The cathedral is located in the district of Espoon keskus, near the Espoonjoki riv ...

and even as the railway line was eventually built fairly close to the cathedral, this did not yet guarantee that a railway station would be opened at the village near the cathedral since Kauklahti was regarded as a more significant place for a railway station. Eventually, both the church village and Kauklahti received their own station. The

National Romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

style station building designed by

Bruno Granholm Bruno Ferdinand Granholm (May 14, 1857 in Myrskylä – September 29, 1930) was a Finnish architect. He served as the chief architect of Rautatiehallitus (The Railroad Board) between 1892 and 1926. Many of the station buildings he designed are ...

was completed in 1903 and its plans were similar to that of the station building at Koski railway station at

Salo Salo or Salò may refer to: Places Finland *Salo, Finland, a town in Western Finland **Salo sub-region, a subdivision of Finland Proper and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009 *An old name of Saloinen, a former municipality in Ostroboth ...

. The station building was expanded in 1909, again with the designs of Bruno Granholm. The area around the railway station started to change drastically in the 1970–1980's as the former rural village started to turn into the current cityscape. The current modern station building designed by Olavi Vanninen was completed in 1981. This building also functions as a pedestrian bridge across the train tracks. The current station building is currently owned by VR and the old buildings were acquired by the Senate Properties in 2007. Espoo railway station used to be the station within the city of Espoo served by the Helsinki–Turku long-distance trains. In October 25, 2015,

Leppävaara station Leppävaara () is a Districts of Espoo, district of Espoo, a city in Finland. The Rantarata rail line and the Ring I, Ring Road I, the busiest road in Finland, cross in Leppävaara, thus making it a major traffic hub in the Greater Helsinki region ...

replaced Espoo station as the long-distance train stop in the city of Espoo.

Connections

Bus routes: 118, 531, 542, 241(V), 244(K), 245 (winter only), 245A (summer only), 246(K, T, KT), 134, 136, 200, 213, 235N, 243(K), 565, 566, 168, 169

The station environment

The old station building has been present for over a century, but the tracks on both sides of it have changed. The

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

through the city rock wasn't there originally; instead the tracks went past the rock on the north side at Läntinen jokitie. Also the cut face on the east side of the rock was made later. A road, ''Vanha ratavalli'', goes along the old route of the tracks. At both places, traces of the tracks' old route could be seen in the ground as late as winter 2004.

Departure tracks

Espoo railway station has four platform tracks. Tracks 3–4 are normally unused by passenger trains that stop at the station. In the past they were used by the trains until 2007, when the terminus of the train was moved from Espoo westwards to Kauklahti. * Track 1 is used by commuter trains to Hanko, to Siuntio, and to Kirkkonummi and to Kauklahti.Espoo - Train Departures - Fintraffic
''junalahdot.fi''. Retrieved 2025-01-27. * Track 2 is used by commuter trains , , , and to Helsinki. On the other side of the platform track 1 is a bus stop and a taxi station. On the other side of the platform track 4 is the Espoo

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

and a turning point for buses going northwards, and also the Espoontori shopping centre.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espoo Railway Station Railway stations designed by Bruno Granholm Railway stations in Espoo Railway stations in Finland opened in 1903