The West Railway is a partly double-track rail link between Helsinki and Turku, which is currently in the planning stage. The connection will improve the reliability of travel and provide new opportunities for mobility, growth and development.
In addition to faster, smoother connections, the new rail link will bring all the municipalities along the railway line closer to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and create a labor market region comprising 1.5 million Finns in the western part of Southern Finland.
The rail connection will link Finland even more strongly to the European rail network. The development of rail traffic is a choice on behalf of our environment and the future.
More travel options
The West Railway enables the development of local traffic in new municipalities both in Uusimaa and in Southwest Finland. The new rail link makes it possible to open 15 new stations for commuter train service between Helsinki and Turku. The rail connection will therefore provide new opportunities to use a commuter train for half a million Finns.
According to the estimates of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the West Railway will see up to seven million local train journeys per year. The majority of these journeys will take place on the new section between Helsinki and Lohja.
The West Railway will not only connect Helsinki, Espoo and Turku, but also provide all the municipalities along the railway line and their residents access to the rail network. The Coastal Railway will continue to serve the existing residents and areas along the line.
Most viable solution for the next 100 years
It is becoming more and more important to ensure the smooth, safe and environmentally friendly mobility of people for work and leisure. The West Railway provides a fast, reliable rail link for more than one million people and is the most viable mobility solution in Southern Finland for the next one hundred years.
There is a high-quality motorway between Turku and Helsinki, but its capacity is limited and congestion is already an everyday occurrence especially near the cities. The commuter train traffic from the area of Lohja, enabled by the new rail link, will reduce the congestion of motor traffic in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The train will become a genuine alternative to passenger cars for an increasing number of people.
The Coastal Railway plays an important role as an enabler of railway traffic in the region, but it cannot achieve the impact of the West Railway, not even with billions of euros of development investments. The development of the Coastal Railway is not an alternative to the West Railway.
Stronger connection to the west and to Europe
The West Railway is part of the Scandinavian–Mediterranean Corridor within the Trans-European Transport Network TEN-T. The purpose of TEN-T is to promote the smooth and seamless movement of people and goods within Europe.
Quality criteria and a schedule for the transport network have been set in the European legislation. Finland has contributed to the decision-making process and is committed to the objectives of TEN-T.
As a counterbalance to the obligations from Europe, the European Union is providing support and funding to Finland as it implements the West Railway. Finland has already received funding that covers 50 per cent of the costs of planning the rail link, and it can receive up to 30 per cent of the construction costs. However, the EU requires that the funding is used specifically on the West Railway.
West Railway enables urban development and investments
Boston Consulting Group has estimated that major private investments worth up to six billion euros will be made in the region affected by the West Railway as a result of its construction.
Investments will be made in the areas of the major cities located at the ends of the line, but also new development of urban structure will take place in areas where a rail connection will now be set up for the first time.