The European Union has selected two Finnish rail projects for co-financing under the 2010 TEN-T Calls which will see the overall modernisation of two key rail routes in the country for a total support of over €5.7 million.
The Seinäjoki-Oulu section is a single-track railway line which is currently operating at full capacity levels and creating a bottleneck on the north-south axis for the entire Finnish rail network.
The EU has decided, based on the proposal presented by Finland during the 2010 TEN-T Calls, to co-fund a broad renovation and upgrade of this section to improve capacity, safety and speed.
This will entail:
- Improvement of rail infrastructure and associated superstructures
- New safety equipment
- Improvements in electrification of the track(s)
- Removal of level-crossings at sections where operation speeds will be raised
- Improvements of specific sections to enable higher axle loads and operation speeds
- Capacity improvements (double track sections)
- Choice of procurement model.
The improvements are split into two distinct actions.
The first one involves the Seinäjoki-Ruha and Pännäinen-Liminka sections and the planning phase for the Liminka-Oulu one, receiving a total EU contribution of €4.54 million.
The second concerns studies regarding the feasibility of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) procurement model for the Kokkola-Ylivieska section, with a maximum EU contribution of €1.21 million.
The €5.7 million of support contributed by the EU will help to ensure a better and safer flow of rail traffic along one of the key axis in Finland, thus aiding the smoother flow of goods and people in the country.
