Taiga (roller coaster)


Taiga is a steel roller coaster located at the Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. Taiga is the tallest tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster in Finland.

History

announced in early 2018, after a series of teaser social media posts, that the park was to build "its greatest ride project ever". This was to be a launched roller coaster built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin, and would surpass each of the records of height, length and speed held to date by Finnish roller coasters. The coaster replaced the park's longstanding Premier Rides water coaster, Vonkaputous.

Ride experience

The ride starts with a rolling LSM launch out of the station which leads into a twisted dive drop, followed by a series of banked right and left handed sweeping turns. Following these, the train arrives at the coaster's second and final launch: here the train is launched to the rides' top speed of up to a top hat, before pulling down to the right into an inverted airtime hill. The train then navigates a small airtime hill before rising into a large immelman loop. A further series of right and left handed S-bends leads the coaster to its final inversion, a zero-g roll after which it reaches the brake run and station.

Theme

The name Taiga derives from a Russian word that refers to boreal or snow forests - which make up much of Finland's geography. These are areas of land that mostly comprise of pine, spruce, and larch trees. The ride's theme is primarily based around a nesting eagle, which makes regular observation flights from its nest around the park.