The Kerava–Lahti railway line or Lahden oikorata (Lahti direct line) is a railway line in southern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

between the towns of Kerava and

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

, which opened on 3 September 2006.

History

In 1990, the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

commissioned a study regarding the construction of a new line connecting

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

with eastern Finland, prompted by the capacity problems of the

Helsinki–Riihimäki railway Helsinki–Riihimäki railway is a railway running between the Helsinki Central railway station and the Riihimäki railway station in Finland, and it is part of the Finnish Main Line. It was opened in 1862 as a part of the Finland's first railway b ...

. Three main routes for the new connection were proposed:

–

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; sv, S:t Michel; la, Michaelia) is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Etelä-Savo region. The municipality has a population of () (around 34,000 ...

, Helsinki–

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lappeenranta and northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is ...

, and Helsinki–

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

– Hamina–

Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...

. All three options were deemed superior to the alternative of simply upgrading the existing lines. The Kotka option was found to be the least economically viable of the three, while those of Lahti and Kouvola were found to be about equal in this respect. The study was completed in 1992, favoring the Lahti option. The construction of the Kerava–Lahti railway line took four years and cost €331 million. At the time it was the first new passenger railway to be opened in Finland since completion of the

Jämsänkoski Jämsänkoski is a former town and municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It is located near Lake Päijänne and the Jämsänjoki river. The town had a population of 7,351 in 2008. It covered an area of 448.67 km² of which ...

–

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capital of ...

line in 1977, reducing the journey time between Kerava and Lahti by 26 kilometres. Funding was provided by the Finnish government and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, with the route forming part of the EU's "Nordic Triangle" TEN-T strategic transport route.

Services

The line is used as a shortcut for services from

to eastern Finnish cities including

, Kuopio and

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. The ...

, which all used the line to

Riihimäki Riihimäki (literally "Drying barn hill") is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to ...

prior to the construction of the Kerava–Lahti line. The Z train of the

Helsinki commuter rail Helsinki commuter rail ( fi, Helsingin seudun lähijunaliikenne, sv, Huvudstadsregionens närtrafik) is a commuter rail system serving Greater Helsinki and the surrounding county of Uusimaa. The system is a joint venture between the regional t ...

also uses the line.

Future

Proposals exist to build a similar direct railway line from Helsinki Central to

via

Helsinki Airport Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (; fi, Helsinki-Vantaan lentoasema, sv, Helsingfors-Vanda flygplats), or simply Helsinki Airport, is the main international airport of the city of Helsinki, its surrounding metropolitan area, and the Uusimaa region. ...

and

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...

(known as

Itärata Itärata ( en, East Rail) is a proposed railway line in the planning stage to provide a more direct connection between Helsinki and Kouvola, Finland than the current route via Kerava and Lahti. History Plans for a railway line to run east of Hel ...

), which would handle traffic to eastern Finnish cities such as Kuopio, Joensuu,

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; sv, Villmanstrand) is a city and municipality in the region of South Karelia, about from the Russian border and from the town of Vyborg (''Viipuri''). It is situated on the shore of the Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland, and ...

and

, providing a shorter journey time between Helsinki and these cities than currently offered by the Kerava-Lahti line.

Stations

* Haarajoki * Mäntsälä * Henna

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerava-Lahti railway Railway lines in Finland 5 ft gauge railways in Finland Railway lines opened in 2006 2006 establishments in Finland Buildings and structures completed in 2006

History

Services

Future

Stations

See also

References