Tampere–Pori Railway
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The Tampere–Pori railway is a
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
running between the cities of
Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
and
Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...
in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. 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 () 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 liner service to se ...
. Tampere–Pori railway was opened in 1895 and the line follows the river
Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki (" Kokemäki River", ) 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 tributaries of the ...
.


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 language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...
, from where a branch line would be built via
Kankaanpää Kankaanpää () is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and Municipalities of Finland, 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 Häm ...
to Pori. However, in its 1877 session, the
Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland (Finnish language, Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish language, Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the Diet (assembly), legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 ...
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. In the 1880s, three different options were drawn up for the railway: Pori-
Kokemäki Kokemäki (; ) 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 Swedish speakin ...
-
Loimaa Loimaa (; historical ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. Th ...
, Pori-Kokemäki-
Urjala 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 Population density (in ...
and Pori-Kokemäki-Tampere. The first two would have connected Pori to the Turku–Toijala railway, 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 is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
and
Kokemäki Kokemäki (; ) 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 Swedish speakin ...
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's located in the Satakunta region, southeast of Pori. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Harjavalta is a centre for cop ...
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 () is a district in , Finland. It is mostly industrial and harbour area, including the Harbour which is a part of the Port of Pori, Port of . is the terminus of the Tampere–Pori railway, railway. The Mäntyluoto Shipyard, Shipyard is on ...
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 Helsinki Central Station and Turku Central Station in Finland. Its first segment, linking Turku to Karis, was commissioned in 1895, and work began the following ...
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 () 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 Keskusta, Tampere, city ...
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 (, ), shortened to FTIA, is a Finnish government agency responsible for the maintenance of Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders ...
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 legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...
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", ) 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 tributaries of the ...
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 was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...
in the spring of 1918. The Siuronkoski railway bridge on the municipal border between Suoniemi and Pohjois-Pirkkala 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