The interruption in rail service that ended on Monday, 28 July involved the most labour-intensive phase of the project. The long continuous interruption enabled safe work across the project area, often also at night. During the interruption, train traffic was replaced by buses.
“Long interruptions are essential for the completion of the project. The five-week effort began with taking down electrified railway structures, and train tracks were removed from a distance of 11 kilometres to gain access to the layers below the tracks. During the final phase of the interruption, the tracks, electrified railway and safety equipment structures were reinstalled, and the operation of the systems was tested,” says Project Manager Tommi Rosenvall, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
The landscape in the project area was quick to change. For example, an enormous amount of rock was extracted from the area between the Kirkkojärventie bridge and the Espoo centre and about 32 kilometres of concrete piles were installed on the ground. Meanwhile, a bridge transfer was close to breaking records as the 3,000-tonne Säterinpuistontie underpass bridge, nearly 44 metres in length and 23.5 metres in width, was moved to its place. As a result, all four tracks of the line section pass over the bridge.
No more rock face
The excavation carried out in the project involved excavating 34,000 cubic metres of rock on the western side of the Espoo centre. As a result, the rock face that was previously visible from train windows to the west of the tunnel no longer exists. Most of the open excavations in the western part of the project area have now been completed.
Bridges moved in place included the Kauniainen underpass bridge crossing the Tunnelitie road, the Lansantunneli underpass bridge and Kerantunneli bridges in regional contract area 1, and the Yhtiöntien underpass bridge in regional contract area 3. The Kera, Koivuhovi and Kilo stations underwent major renovations. The construction of the Kilo station structures is now mostly complete, including the installation of new platform canopies.
“Overall, the work carried out during the five-week interruption in rail service progressed according to plan, and the tracks were reopened to traffic. Five additional short interruptions in rail service will take place in the autumn, three of them for two days and two for one day,” Rosenvall says.
After completion, the city rail line will improve the punctuality of commuter train traffic between Kirkkonummi and Espoo and long-distance train traffic in the Turku direction. Two additional tracks will significantly reduce sensitivity to disruptions on the Leppävaara and Kauklahti track sections.
Interruptions in rail service on the coastal line, western side of Leppävaara, in autumn 2025
3 x 48 hours & 2 x 24 hours
Sun 31 August – Mon 1 September
Sat 6 September – Mon 8 September
Sat 13 September – Mon 15 September
Sun 21 September – Mon 22 September
Sat 27 September – Mon 29 September