Ring Rail Line
The present end of the line at Vantaankoski railway station, which would be extended by the Ring Rail Line.
Info
Status	Under construction
Locale	Greater Helsinki, Southern Finland
Termini	Vantaankoski Tikkurila
Stations	4 (+4)
Operation
Opened	2014
Technical
Line length	18 km (11 mi)
No. of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,524 mm (5 ft)
Electrification	25 kV @ 50 Hz
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map Kehärata Legend ( Helsinki ) Vantaankoski Overpass Kehä III Vehkala (reservation) Petas (reservation) ( Klaukkala (planned) ) Underpass Valtatie 3 Kivistö Vantaanjoki Viinikkala (reservation) Aviapolis Airport Ruskeasanta (reservation) Leinelä ( Riihimäki ) Hiekkaharju Tikkurila ( Helsinki )

The Ring Rail Line (Finnish: Kehärata previously Marjarata, Swedish: Ringbanan) is a railway route under construction in the area of the city of Vantaa, in the Greater Helsinki Metropolitan Area of Finland. It will connect Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and the adjacent Aviapolis business and retail district to the Helsinki commuter rail network. The line will fill a gap between the existing Vantaankoski railway station and Tikkurila railway stations, travelling in tunnels underneath the airport.

The new line would thus create a quick connection from the airport to Helsinki Central railway station, as well as the suburban areas on the route. The new railway will leave the mainline going north from Helsinki after Tikkurila station in the east, travel via the airport and into Vantaankoski station to the west, joining the existing the branch line for western Vantaa which is currently served by the "M" train. Four new stations will be built, with space reserved for four more in the future ^[1]. The journey time from the airport to Helsinki Central Railway Station will be about 30 minutes, whilst the time to Tikkurila, to connect with long-distance trains going north or east, will be about 8 minutes.^[2]

The founding stone of the line was laid on 3 March 2009^[3], and construction was started on 13 May 2009 with the excavation of service tunnels prior to the rail tunnel itself. The line is to open in mid-2014^[4], however it is possible that an initial above-ground section from Vantaankoski to Kivistö will open earlier in 2012. A final decision on the possibility of the earlier opening has yet to be made, and will be assessed at a later date.^{[citation needed]}

A separate proposal exists to extend the Helsinki Metro to the airport.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kehärata official website
• Kehärata plans and diagrams

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