Goal: Build sustainable infrastructure and promote sustainable industry and innovation

This goal has two targets:

• Develop quality, reliable and sustainable infrastructure 
• Upgrade infrastructure to make it sustainable. 

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency promotes the achievement of these goals and targets through long-term and methodical planning of measures and systematic assessment of impacts. The planning of the measures is based on up-to-date situational awareness of the transport networks regarding the current and future needs of transport system stakeholders. In addition, the FTIA promotes the attainment of the SDGs through the targets set in its performance agreement.

The content of the targets is mainly in line with the objectives of the National Transport System Plan (Transport 12). An investment programme, planning programme and basic plan for transport infrastructure management will be relied on as part of implementing the National Transport System Plan.

The investment programme is the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s knowledge-based proposal regarding transport infrastructure projects and their impacts. The basic plan describes the allocation of appropriations to basic transport infrastructure management aiming to achieve the service level and targets, whereas the planning programme gives an overview of railway, waterway and road network planning. 

The investment and planning programmes and the basic plan include different levels of impact assessment conducted with sustainability in mind. The following are examples of ways in which the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency accounts for the target in its operations:

• Emissions from the operations will be reduced, for example, by identifying effective and cost-efficient CO2 emission reduction opportunities as part of project planning and implementation; by utilising emissions data as part of project impact assessment and decision-making; and by promoting energy efficiency measures, the circular economy and the utilisation of fossil-free energy
• By promoting sustainable modes of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport
• By identifying ways to maintain and promote biodiversity in planning and construction
• By promoting sustainable construction and material efficiency in such activities as the design and construction of road infrastructure
• By acting responsibly together with different stakeholders while addressing the societal impacts of the decisions made.

In addition to systematic planning and impact assessment, successful asset management plays an important role in maintaining sustainable infrastructure. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency is the owner of the road, rail and waterway infrastructure and the structures and equipment associated with it. Asset management ensures that existing transport infrastructure assets preserve their value and that funding is used cost-effectively. The objective of asset management is to provide the best possible service for transport infrastructure users responsibly.

The transport infrastructure assets are maintained in a condition that meets transport needs as cost-effectively as possible. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency continuously collects information on the condition of the assets and analyses the impact of measures, enabling its experts to issue economically responsible maintenance recommendations. Knowledge-based decisions and timely measures extend the life cycle of transport infrastructure assets and improve the productivity of infrastructure maintenance. Costs and risks are managed effectively by means of anticipation and timely measures.
 

Achievements in 2024

 

In 2024, the priority areas of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s operational planning included developing a knowledge-based and sustainable transport system and strengthening the impact knowledge base. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s measures aimed to promote sustainability included improving the transport system’s energy efficiency and increasing the attractiveness of sustainable mobility as well as maintaining and improving the safety, functioning and accessibility of the transport system. 

For example, knowledge and consideration of emission impacts were developed in the planning of transport infrastructure management and the transport system as well as in project planning and evaluation in 2024. The process of preparing the investment programme and assessing its impacts is continuously being developed. In 2024, the development focused on assessing the social impacts and biodiversity loss impacts.

For example, in the assessment of biodiversity loss impacts, attention was paid to the extent to which projects in the investment programme target natural areas, their combined impact on the size of natural areas and the fragmentation of habitats, and to whether the projects in the investment programme have any positive impacts on biodiversity.

Taking the targets set for reducing transport emissions into account in the planning of transport infrastructure management and the transport system as well as in project planning and evaluation plays an essential role in the FTIA’s work. Consideration of environmental and health impacts was additionally developed in project evaluations. The FTIA has also worked to improve the attraction of rail transport and cycling in cooperation with various actors.

Efforts to reduce emissions have been integrated into the scheduling and prioritisation of transport network measures. The development work launched in 2023 aimed at including environmental and health impacts as part of the assessments continued in 2024 with taking account of environmental and health impacts.

Environmentally responsible and carbon-neutral transport infrastructure management contains a number of different areas, especially as a result of different design solutions. Concrete examples of the efforts to reduce emissions and promote the circular economy include updated design criteria, enabling the use of recycled materials, and improved procurement criteria.

In 2024, environmental criteria were introduced, for example, in the context of carbon accounting and the circular economy. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency can primarily influence transport emissions by means of road planning solutions in urban areas (e.g., speed limits). In 2024, the impacts of some of the different design solutions for urban access roads on transport emissions and urban sprawl were assessed.

Building up the knowledge base and more efficient management of the collected data are also key steps towards better and more proactive decision-making from the perspective of sustainability.

The Digirail project will upgrade the safety equipment and access control system of Finnish railways and put in place an ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) that conforms with EU regulation. This will enable real-time data processing and more frequent train departures. The repair backlog of safety systems can simultaneously be reduced in a controlled manner.

In 2024, the project continued the test drives, successfully launched the year before, on the Kouvola-Hamina-Kotka test track. During the year, the system acquisitions of the first commercial line section (Tampere-Pori-Rauma) were carried out and construction work (including cable routes and equipment facilities) began in the field. The preparation of the implementation plan for the project implementation phase progressed as planned. The start of the implementation phase across the whole rail network was confirmed in the 2025 budget.