The Ring Rail Line (, ; formerly ''Marjarata'') is a railway route in the area of the city of

Vantaa Vantaa (; , ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the north of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population of Vantaa is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland. Vantaa is part of the Helsinki Metropoli ...

, in the Greater

Helsinki Metropolitan Area Helsinki metropolitan area (, ) or Greater Helsinki (, ) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller Helsinki capital region, capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater H ...

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 connects Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and the adjacent Aviapolis business and retail district to the

Helsinki commuter rail Helsinki commuter rail (, ) is a commuter rail system serving the Helsinki metropolitan area. The system is managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) and operations are contracted out to VR Group, VR at least until 2031. The sys ...

network. The line fills the gap between Vantaankoski and Tikkurila railway stations, travelling in

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 ...

underneath the airport. The line started operating on 1 July 2015.

History

The founding stone of the line was laid on 3 March 2009, and construction was started on 13 May 2009 with the excavation of service tunnels. The excavation of a 300 m long tunnel station under the airport was completed in March 2010, as the construction was proceeding on schedule. In February 2011, a video on the project's official website stated that the project would be open by June 2014. It announced various new details, including that the station at Tikkurila would be entirely rebuilt as an integrated travel centre, as well as details on the trains that would serve the airport. In September 2012, the opening date was pushed back to July 2015, due to the unexpected need to re-design and reinforce the airport station tunnel to withstand the acidic products of

propylene glycol Propylene glycol ( IUPAC name: propane-1,2-diol) is a viscous, colorless liquid. It is almost odorless and has a faintly sweet taste. Its chemical formula is CH3CH(OH)CH2OH. As it contains two alcohol groups, it is classified as a diol. An al ...

decay by bacteria within the ground. Propylene glycol is used as a de-icing agent for the planes. The Ring Rail Line started operating on 1 July 2015. The station at the Helsinki Airport opened later, with the Tietotie entrance opening on 10 July and the direct connection to the terminal opening in December 2015.

Route

The new line creates a connection from the airport to

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 ...

, as well as the suburban areas on the route. The new railway leaves the mainline going north from Helsinki after Tikkurila station in the east, travel via the airport and into Vantaankoski station to the west, joining the existing the branch line for western Vantaa which was previously served by the "M" train. Five new stations were built, with space reserved for three more in the future. The line is served by the "P" and "I" trains which travel the ring clockwise and anticlockwise respectively. The journey time from the airport to Helsinki Central Railway Station is 27 minutes ("P" train) or 32 minutes ("I" train), whilst the time to Tikkurila, to connect with long-distance trains going north or east, is 8 minutes. Both trains operate every 10 minutes in the daytime.

Stations

230px, Leinelä, one of the new stations, in 2015. In the first phase, five new stations were built at Vehkala, Kivistö, Aviapolis, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Leinelä. Out of these, the Aviapolis and Airport stations are located in a tunnel. Reservations have been made for three additional stations: Petas (surface), Viinikkala (tunnel) and Ruskeasanta (tunnel).

Cost

The projected cost of the construction is €655 million as of September 2012, up from €605 million in March 2010. The estimated cost of the project in December 2014 was €738.5 million. The current estimated cost of the project is €773.8 million

Future development

Separate proposals exist to extend the

Helsinki Metro The Helsinki Metro (, ) is a rapid transit system serving the Helsinki capital region, Finland. It is the world's most northern, the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of planni ...

to the airport, and to move long-distance services from the current main North-South corridor to a new railway between Pasila and Kerava, passing through the airport. This new route, known as Lentorata, would travel in a long tunnel under the airport and allow direct access from long-distance trains, as well as free the rail capacity taken up by long-distance traffic in the current main corridor for the increasing local commuter traffic.

References

External links

Finnish Transport Agency > Projects > Under construction > Ring Rail Line
{{Railway lines in Finland Railway lines in Finland Transport in Vantaa 5 ft gauge railways in Finland Railway tunnels in Finland Airport rail links Railway lines opened in 2015 2015 establishments in Finland Underground commuter rail Buildings and structures completed in 2015