In August, the city of Helsinki will launch the tram network development project, causing changes to the existing route network. “The new tram network has been designed to be simple and straightforward and to provide reliable and frequent service, allowing as many passengers as possible to get to their destinations as smoothly as possible. The idea is to ensure short, even headways on the most important sections of route with a combination of two trams,” the city administration says.
In the 2020, trams will go all the way to Hernesaari, Ilmala and Kalasatama.
In September 2016, the City Council gave the green light to the project of the Crown Bridges, confirming implementation. These will be a series of three bridges in Helsinki for a new tram line linking the city center with eastern suburbs across a central Helsinki water body. The bridges will also serve cyclists and pedestrians. Construction works will start in 2018, and the bridges are scheduled to open in 2026. The main bridge spanning 1.2 km will be the longest bridge in Finland. The current cost estimate for the bridges and the tram line is EUR 260 million.
Another tram project approved last year by the city’s authorities is the project plan for the Helsinki metropolitan area light rail line, so called Raide-Jokeri (Rail Jokeri), to run east to west from eastern Helsinki to Espoo. Raide-Jokeri would run from Itäkeskus via Oulunkylä, Huopalahti and Leppävaara to Keilaniemi in Espoo, replacing the current bus line 550, which follows the same route.
The total length of the line would be 25 km, 16 km of which would run in Helsinki and 9 km in Espoo, and will run on two tracks, mainly on exclusive lanes separated from other traffic. The light rail line would have 33 pairs of stops, making the average distance between stops 800 metres. Construction is scheduled to begin next year, to allow the service to start in 2021.
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