Itärata


Itärata is a proposed railway line in the planning stage to provide a more direct connection between Helsinki and Kouvola, Finland than the current route via Kerava and Lahti.

History

Plans for a railway line to run east of Helsinki to the Russian border, passing through Sipoo, Porvoo, Kotka and Hamina were agreed in principle by Uusimaa Regional Council in 2010. The line would run through a tunnel to Pasila railway station and Helsinki Airport before following the route of the Finnish national road 7 to St Petersburg.
In 2018, a study was commissioned into the construction of a new rail line from Helsinki to Kouvola via Kerava and Porvoo, reducing the Helsinki to Kouvola travel time from 1 hour 18 minutes to 53 minutes. This new line would use the proposed Lentorata route between Helsinki and Kerava. With a line speed, the journey time for Helsinki-St Petersburg services could be reduced by nine minutes. A 15-minute reduction could be achieved if the infrastructure was built for operation. At a cost of €1.7 billion, it was not determined to be economically feasible by former Finnish transport minister Anne Berner, in spite of Porvoo's status as the largest Finnish municipality without a scheduled rail service; along with the significantly reduced travel times the line would bring to eastern Finnish cities including Lappeenranta, Kuopio, Joensuu and Mikkeli, which currently use the Kerava–Lahti railway line. In 2019, the government of Antti Rinne confirmed commitment to advancing proposals for this line.

Benefits

Itärata is said to affect the lives of 2 million Finns, almost half the Finnish population, by bringing them closer to the capital by rail. Travel times of three hours are expected between Helsinki and Kuopio, Joensuu and St Petersburg. Studies suggest that Itärata would generate a further 2.8 million rail trips annually. Porvoo, with a population of around 50,000, is the largest municipality in Finland without a scheduled railway service, and would gain a station on the new line allowing a 33-minute travel time to Helsinki.