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Ring Rail Line

Ring Rail Line
Kehärata-Ringbanan.svg
The Ring Rail Line. Dashed line indicates tunnel.
Overview
Locale Vantaa, Southern Finland
Termini Vantaankoski
Merges with Main line (local tracks)
between Hiekkaharju
and Koivukylä stations
Stations 5 (+ 3)
Operation
Opened 1 July 2015
Technical
Line length 18 km (11 mi)
Number 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
Ring Rail Line

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

The line started operating on 1 July 2015.

The founding stone of the line was laid on 3 March 2009, and construction was started on 13 May 2009 with the excavation of service tunnels. The excavation of a 300 m long tunnel station under the airport was completed in March 2010, as the construction was proceeding on schedule.

In February 2011, a video on the project's official website stated that the project would be open by June 2014. It announced various new details, including that the station at Tikkurila would be entirely rebuilt as an integrated travel centre, as well as details on the trains that would serve the airport. In September 2012, the opening date was pushed back to July 2015, due to the unexpected need to re-design and reinforce the airport station tunnel to withstand the acidic products of propylene glycol decay by bacteria within the ground. Propylene glycol is used as a de-icing agent for the planes.

The Ring Rail Line started operating on 1 July 2015. The station at the Helsinki Airport opened later, with the Tietotie entrance opening on 10 July and the direct connection to the terminal opening in December 2015.

The new line creates a connection from the airport to Helsinki Central railway station, as well as the suburban areas on the route. The new railway leaves 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 was previously served by the "M" train. Five new stations were built, with space reserved for three more in the future.


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Wikipedia

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