Espoo Rail Link deal agreed on

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the City of Espoo, and the City of Kauniainen will make an agreement on the construction of Espoo’s City Rail Link, said a press release of the City of Espoo.

The agreement to be processed by the City Board includes provisions on the detailed division of costs, the implementation method, and the schedule, among other matters.

“The City Rail Link will support Espoo’s sustainable growth and carbon neutrality goals. It also offers new opportunities for residential construction and creating job sustainably by the railway. Furthermore, it supports the changes in the Kera area and further improves the public transport connections in the changing Espoon keskus,” said Olli Isotalo, head of Technical and Environment Services of the city.

Isotalo emphasised that the Espoo City Rail Link is also a prerequisite for the ‘one-hour train’ which is vital for the development of the entirety of southern Finland.

The parties to the agreement will agree on the construction of the City Rail Link through joint funding, as specified in the railway plan approved in 2015. The state and the municipalities will divide the implementation costs of 275 million euros into halves. Espoo’s share of the total project costs will be 40%, while Kauniainen’s share will be 10%.

The European Commission has granted a subsidy of 11 million euros for the construction planning. The planning’s share will account for 22 million euros of the total costs. EU subsidies will also be requested for the actual construction of the City Rail Link.

The City Rail Link’s construction planning is intended to start in February 2021, at the latest. The construction is planned to start in 2022. The estimated year of completion is 2028.