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Wednesday, 24.04.2024, 19:17
Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel to double cargo, passenger carriage
According to the FinEst Link feasibility study, the undersea railway tunnel
would bring major savings for cargo in terms of travel time and cost. The
FinEst Link project foresees significant growth potential for cargo if the
tunnel is built. The estimated amount of goods carried by railway tunnel and
ferries in 2050 is 4.2 million tons, which means that the annual cargo carriage
is 8.4 million tons. Approximately 3.8 million tons of cargo per year is
carried between Helsinki and Tallinn at present, it appears from the
calculations of FinEst Link.
The calculations drawn up in the project indicate that approximately 12
million passengers would use the train for travelling between the two countries
and 11 million passengers would continue to use ferries, which would mean the
total number of passengers in 2050 would be 23 million. Approximately 9 million
passengers per year are travelling between the two countries at present.
The feasibility study of the FinEst Link project said that passenger
numbers are to also increase on ferries regardless of the fact that daily
commuters would prefer the tunnel for travelling. If the tunnel is not built,
the study expects to see 14 million passengers on ferries in 2050.
Consultants of the FinEst Link project suggest using European standard
1,435 mm gauge railway which would also connect Helsinki's Vantaa Airport with
Tallinn Airport. This would ensure a direct route for cargo from Finland and
Estonia to Central Europe without additional time needed for loading or
storage. Air passengers can use the railway to travel from Vantaa Airport or
Tallinn Airport to Warsaw without having to change trains on the way.
The reloading of goods from the Finnish 1,524 mm gauge railway to the
European 1,435 mm gauge or vice versa will occur in the area of Vantaa Airport,
in the so-called airport noise area, where large goods terminals would be
located, which will service the cargo exchange passing through the tunnel. The
goods would be transported by trucks via the planned Ring Road 4 (Keha 4) or
via the Hanko-Hyvinkaa track with the Finnish gauge and onwards to the Finnish
national rail network. According to the project's analysis, cargo trains are to
travel at a speed of 120 kilometer per hour in the tunnel.
On the Tallinn side, the railway tunnel arriving from under the Viimsi
peninsula will connect the Rail Baltic and Tallinn-St. Petersburg railway
connections and according to the vision, the cargo terminal planned in the
Soodevahe region will service transport in both diretions. The railway tunnel
-- along with Rail Baltic, railway connections in the direction of St.
Petersburg and Tartu, the ports of Tallinn and Muuga and possibilities offered
by the Ulemiste railway station and the Tallinn Airport -- will increase
Tallinn's importance as a logistics hub in the Baltic Sea region and will
enable to offer a competitive transport solution both in passenger traffic as
well as the movement of cargo both on the north-south and east-west route.
According to the analysis, Helsinki and Tallinn are already forming a twin
city, where people and goods move across the Gulf of Finland with ease
regardless of the two hour travel time. After the opening of the railway
tunnel, Helsinki and Tallinn will be able to develop into a unified working and
living region. A passenger train will move at a speed of 200 kilometers per our
and the two cities will be 30 minutes away from each other, which can be
compared to a journey from one city district to another. A fast connection will
open new possibilities both for business, investments as well as for tourism.
The FinEst Link project has analyzed the costs and benefits of an undersea
railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki. The results of the analysis will
be presented at a final conference of the project to be held in Tallinn on
February 7. The prime minister of Estonia and Finland last week announced that
they support the idea of the tunnel if the cost-benefit analysis indicated that
the project is economically viable.
"The Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel is not only a transport project as it
would have much larger societal impacts. Finland would be closely linked with
Europe and a unified, competitive greater metropolitan region would be created
in the Baltic Sea region," FinEst Link project director Kari Ruohonen said.
When connecting with other transport projects in the pipeline such as the
Arctic Corridor and Rail Baltic, the Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel would form the
missing link from the Arctic through Finland and to the Baltics, Poland and
Central Europe.
FinEsti Link is a research project funded by the European Union, which
focuses on studying the feasibility of an undersea railway tunnel between
Tallinn and Helsinki. The total budget of the project is 1.3 million euros
and it is co-financed from the Interreg Central Baltic program.
The project is led by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council in partnership
with the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn, the Harju County government, the
Finnish Transport Agency and the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Communications.