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The Tampere–Pori railway is a
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
running between the cities of
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...
in
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 ...
. The line carries passenger traffic from Tampere to Pori via five railway stations and continues as a freight line to the
Port of Pori Port of Pori ( fi, Porin satama) is a complex of three harbours. It is by the Gulf of Bothnia in Pori, Finland. The port authority of Pori was established in 1780. Today the Port of Pori is a corporation owned by the city. Port of Pori has l ...
. Tampere–Pori railway was opened in 1895 and the line follows the river
Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki ("Kokemäki River", sv, Kumo älv) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary tribu ...
.


History


Planning and construction

The idea of a railway linking Pori to inland Finland was first brought up in the 1860s. The railway north of Tampere was initially planned to run from the western side of lake
Näsijärvi Näsijärvi () is a lake above sea level, in the Pirkanmaa region of southern Finland. Näsijärvi is the biggest lake in the Tampere area at in size. The city of Tampere was built along the Tammerkoski rapids, through which the lake drains int ...
through the northern parts of
Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...
, from where a branch line would be built via
Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a town and municipality of Finland. Kankaanpää was founded in 1865, became a township in 1967 and finally a town in 1972. It is located in the crossroads of Hämeenkangas and Pohjankangas ridges. It belongs to the region of Sa ...
to Pori. However, in its 1877 session, the
Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland (Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Riksda ...
decided to align the Tampere-Haapamäki line to the east of the Näsijärvi, and the first plan for the Pori line fell through. Since then, the project was received the strong backing of the timber processing industry, which wanted a rail link to the port of
Reposaari Reposaari ( sv, Räfsö) is an island and village at the Bothnian Sea in Pori, Finland. The island is located near the mouth of river Kokemäenjoki, southwest of the Pori's city center. The population of Reposaari is 1,099 (2009). Since the 19 ...
. In the 1880s, three different options were drawn up for the railway: Pori-
Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedis ...
-
Loimaa Loimaa (; historical sv, Loimijoki) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is ...
, Pori-Kokemäki-
Urjala Urjala (; sv, Urjala, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region, near the town of Forssa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring m ...
and Pori-Kokemäki-Tampere. The first two would have connected Pori to the
Turku–Toijala railway The Turku–Toijala railway ( fi, Turku–Toijala-rata, sv, Åbo–Toijala-banan) is a 1,524 mm (5 ft) railway in Finland. Running through the regions of Southwest Finland, Kanta-Häme and Pirkanmaa, it connects the junction stations of Turku ...
, completed in 1876, and through it to the Finnish main line between Helsinki and Tampere. The actual construction work began in 1890. The project was geographically divided into several work divisions, each of which employed at best several hundred men; for example, in the winter of 1892, the Kokemäki division had around 600 workers. A year later, work slowed down considerably due to lack of funds, but the section between
Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
and
Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedis ...
was finally opened for regular traffic in November 1894. In March of the following year, services to
Harjavalta Harjavalta () is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populatio ...
were started and the line was completed in its entirety in April 1895, after which the line was officially inaugurated in November. Two years after the completion of the Tampere–Pori section, the Senate decided to extend the line further to
Mäntyluoto Mäntyluoto ( sv, Tallholmen) is a district in Pori, Finland. It is mostly industrial and harbour area, including the Mäntyluoto Harbour which is a part of the Port of Pori. Mäntyluoto is the terminus of the Tampere–Pori railway. The Mäntylu ...
by , which had been nominated by the State Winter Transport Committee as Finland's second wintertime port. Construction of the line began in 1897 and was completed in 1900.


Extension plans

In the early 1900s, a railway connection was also planned from Helsinki via Loimaa to Pori, in which case the junction station would have been located in Kokemäki, Peipohja or Riste. In addition, Peipohja was also planned to become a junction station for the line to Uusikaupunki. However, the Peipohja-Uusikaupunki railway project was abandoned when the
rantarata Rantarata (the Coastal Railway, Swedish: Kustbanan), is a railway running between the Helsinki Central railway station and the Turku railway station in Finland. Its first segment, linking Turku to Karis, was commissioned in 1895, and work began th ...
was extended from Turku to Uusikaupunki. On the other hand, the construction of a direct line between Helsinki and Kokemäki was considered important for the capital's food supply, but with bus traffic growing strongly in the 1930s, this plan was also abandoned.
Lielahti Lielahti ( sv, Lielax) is a suburb in the city of Tampere, Finland, with important industrial and commercial facilities. Lielahti was annexed to the city in 1950 from Ylöjärvi parish. Lielahti lies about 7 kilometres west from the city centre. ...
in Tampere became a junction station when the Tampere–Seinäjoki direct line was completed in 1971. In 1984, an long siding was built from the former Kaanaa halt on the Pori–Mäntyluoto line to Tahkoluoto. Passenger services between Pori and Mäntyluoto were discontinued in 1953, but were briefly reinstated on a trial basis with Dm7 railbuses in 1975.


Electrification

The electrification of the Tampere-Kokemäki-Rauma line was completed in January 1998, and the Kokemäki-Pori section followed in May 1999. In October 2016, the
Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency ( fi, Väylävirasto, sv, Trafikledsverket), shortened to FTIA, is a Finnish government agency responsible for the maintenance of Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Rep ...
and the city of Pori signed a
letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...
regarding the electrification the Mäntyluoto and Tahkoluoto sections of the line. The electrification between Mäntyluoto and Pori was completed and activated in January 2020. The electrified connection between Mäntyluoto and Tahkoluoto was completed in December 2020.


Overview

The Tampere-Pori line follows river
Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki ("Kokemäki River", sv, Kumo älv) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary tribu ...
and its waterways throughout its path. The crossing of the river takes place at Riste in Kokemäki via four bridges. The altitude of the line decreases by more than from Tampere to Pori, although there are no particularly steep inclines except between Nokia and Siuro. The only tunnel on the line was on the former Linnavuori siding in Siuro, but there are several steep cliffs. The tightest curves on the line were straightened in Nokia, Vammala and Riste in the 1960s and 1980s, with the line being moved to a completely different location in some places. Even then, the line follows the banks of the
Kulovesi Kulovesi is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is situated in the area of the towns Nokia and Sastamala in the Pirkanmaa region. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake Pyhäjärvi drains through the Nokianvirta River into the Lake ...
and Rautavesi lakes in many locations. Most of the smaller stations and halts between Pori and Kokemäki were closed during the 1960s and 1970s, and later, by the end of the 1980s, between Kokemäki and Tampere as well. The original station buildings are still in use in Nokia, Karkku and Vammala, and closed ones remain in Siuro, Kiikka and Nakkila. Many of the original station buildings along the line were destroyed during the
Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...
in the spring of 1918. The Siuronkoski railway bridge on the municipal border between
Suoniemi Suoniemi may refer to: * Suoniemi, Finland, village and former municipality * Kalevi Suoniemi Kalevi Ensio Suoniemi (14 July 1931 – 17 June 2010) was a Finnish gymnast. He competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events ...
and
Pohjois-Pirkkala Nokia () is a town and a municipality on the banks of the Nokianvirta River (part of the Kokemäki River) in the region of Pirkanmaa, some west of Tampere in Finland. The distance to Tampere Airport from Nokia is using road connections when ci ...
and the Pahakoski railway bridge in Kokemäki were also destroyed during the war. The Pori station was moved approximately southeast from its original location during the construction of the Pori-Haapamäki railway line in the 1930s.


References


External links

* Railway lines in Finland Railway lines opened in 1895 {{Railway lines in Finland