AFTER several delays, Finland’s second-largest city Espoo joined the Helsinki metro network on November 18 with the inauguration of the first phase of West Metro, the country’s largest infrastructure project.

A launch ceremony was held at the Tehola intermodal terminal in Kouvala, Finland, on November 10 to mark the departure of the first Finland - China rail freight service.

THE board of Helsinki City Transport (HKL) and the technical manager of the City of Espoo have selected a Finnish consortium of YIT and VR track for a contract to construct the 25km Raide-Jokeri light rail line.

THE European Investment Bank has agreed to provide Tampere with a €150m loan to finance the first phase of the Finnish city’s light rail network.

FINLAND’s passenger rail market will be opened to competition in the early 2020s, ending the monopoly of incumbent operator VR Group, under plans unveiled by minister of transport and communications Mrs Anne Berner and minister of economic affairs Mr Mika Lintilä on August 9.

THE Rail Baltica project to build an 870km high-speed standard-gauge railway connecting Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius to Poland was presented to the G7 transport ministers meeting in Cagliari, Italy, on June 22 by Ms Baiba Rubesa, CEO and Chairperson of the RB Rail joint venture.

HELSINKI City Transport (HKL) has published renderings of the initial conceptual design for the fleet of Artic XL low-floor LRVs for the Raide-Jokeri light rail line between Helsinki and the neighbouring city of Espoo.

THE first eight broad-gauge Siemens Vectron locomotives for Finnish operator VR Group have been authorised for operation in Finland by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, Trafi.

RB Rail, the company set up to oversee the Rail Baltica high-speed rail project to link the three Baltic states to Poland, has appointed its management team and published the results of a cost-benefit analysis.

HELSINKI City Transport (HKL) announced on April 24 that three consortia have prequalified for a tender to design and build the Raide-Jokeri light rail line between Helsinki and the neighbouring city of Espoo.