City officials from Helsinki and Espoo have given the go-ahead for experts to draft a feasibility study for a new light-rail line that would serve up to 100 000 passengers a day between the Finnish cities. Featuring 32 stations, the 25-kilometre Raide-Jokeri line would partially replace the existing bus service between the cities, connecting the Itäkeskus district in Helsinki and Keilaniemi in Espoo. The service would run every 5 to 10 minutes between stations that will be spaced about 800 metres apart on average.
The Raide-Jokeri has a budget of EUR 280 million and is scheduled for completion in the early 2020s. ‘The project planning for Raide-Jokeri is a significant step in the implementation of the first express rail link in the Helsinki region. The rail project plays a key role in the delivery of a sustainable transport system in accordance with Helsinki’s new master plan,’ says Heikki Hälvä, project manager at Helsinki’s city planning department. The new master plan specifies that the line will run alongside land that will be used for new housing developments for 6 000 new residents in Helsinki and 4 000 in Espoo.
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