Airport Line project to be advanced in accordance with the Government Programme 

The State of Finland, represented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, is starting negotiations with the current shareholders of Finnish Rail Ltd to change the purpose of the company to cover only the planning of the Airport Line. At the same time, the name of the company will be changed to Lentorata Oy. In addition, other amendments to the shareholder agreement and the articles of association required by this will be negotiated.

The purpose of the company will be to plan the Airport Line between Pasila and Kerava up to the point when it is ready for construction. In addition, the company could carry out or commission studies to identify the benefits, disadvantages and other effects in order to prepare the decision to implement the Airport Line. These studies could include studies and analyses going beyond the minimum regulatory requirements to obtain a more reliable cost and impact assessment for the construction phase. 

Finnish Rail Ltd is a project company established in December 2020 to plan the rail infrastructure associated with the rail link between Helsinki and Tampere via Helsinki-Vantaa Airport up to the point when it is ready for construction.  The project package includes the Airport Line, the planning of which received EUR 2.75 million in funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) in June 2023. The State of Finland owns 51% of the company. Other shareholders of the company include Finavia Corporation, Helsinki, Tampere, Vantaa, Hämeenlinna, Janakkala, Riihimäki, Lahti, Akaa, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Pori, Seinäjoki, Vaasa, Kangasala, Nokia, Orivesi, Pirkkala, Ylöjärvi, Kokkola and Parkano.

 
What comes next? 

The Airport Line project will be advanced in accordance with the Government Programme. In other respects, the planning of the Finland Railway link will be suspended. On 12 September 2023, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy supported the proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Communications that the state advance the matter. 

Inquiries:

Altti Iiskola, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 342 076, altti.iiskola(at)gov.fi