{{Short description|Railway line in Vantaa, Finland}} {{Infobox rail line | box_width = auto | name = Ring Rail Line | color = | logo = | logo_width = | image = Kehärata-Ringbanan.svg | image_width = | caption = The Ring Rail Line. Dashed line indicates tunnel. | type = | system = | status = | locale = Vantaa, Southern Finland | start = Vantaankoski | end = Merges with Main line (local tracks)<br /> between {{rws|Hiekkaharju}} <br /> and {{rws|Koivukylä}} stations | stations = 5 (+ 3) | routes = | daily_ridership = | open = 1 July 2015 | close = | owner = | operator = | character = | depot = | stock = | linelength = {{convert|18|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} | tracklength = | tracks = Double track | gauge = {{Track gauge|1524mm|lk=on}} | electrification = 25 kV @ 50 Hz | speed = {{convert|120|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} | elevation = | map = 300px|Ring Rail Line{{Kehärata}} | map_state = collapsed }} The '''Ring Rail Line''' ({{langx|fi|Kehärata}}, {{langx|sv|Ringbanan}}; formerly ''Marjarata'') 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 the gap between Vantaankoski and Tikkurila railway stations, travelling in tunnel underneath the airport.
The line started operating on 1 July 2015.
== History == [[File:Paikallisjuna Louhelan rautatieasemalla; Myyrmäki, Vantaa, 1970-luku.jpg|thumb|left|A commuter train on line M at the Louhela railway station in the 1970s. The last commuter train on line M travelled on the rail on 30 June 2015, one day before the Ring Rail Line opened.<ref>Karlsson, Stella: [https://www.vantaansanomat.fi/paikalliset/3161693 Viisi vuotta sitten lakkautetusta M-junasta on monella länsivantaalaisella muistoja – Museon tallenteista löytyy haikeutta: "Kyllä tuolla junalla tulee aina olemaan paikka meikäläisen sydämessä"], ''Vantaan Sanomat'' 15 November 2020. Accessed on 13 April 2022.</ref>]] The founding stone of the line was laid on 3 March 2009,<ref>{{cite web | title = Laying of Ring Rail Linecornerstone in Vantaa today | url = http://www.keharata.fi/?pageid=10&parent0=4&newsid=5 |publisher = Kehärata | date = 6 March 2009 | access-date = 6 February 2011 }}</ref> and construction was started on 13 May 2009 with the excavation of service tunnels. The excavation of a {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on|adj=mid|-long}} tunnel station under the airport was completed in March 2010, as the construction was proceeding on schedule.<ref name="yle2010-03-17" />
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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Kehärata | url = http://www.keharata.fi/ | access-date = 6 February 2011 | archive-date = 2 February 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100202075405/http://www.keharata.fi/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="liikennevirasto2012-09-06"/><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/a1439947674847| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150822025300/http://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/a1439947674847| archive-date = 2015-08-22| title = Lentokentän juna-aseman seinästä tihkuu glykolia – sama aine viivästytti kehärataa vuodella - Kehärata - Kaupunki - Helsingin Sanomat}} </ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hsl.fi/en/news/2015/ring-rail-line-opens-traffic-1-july-travel-airport-aviapolis-station-6846|title=Ring Rail Line opens to traffic on 1 July – travel to the airport via the Aviapolis station|publisher=HSL|date=25 June 2015|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-date=2 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302024628/https://www.hsl.fi/en/news/2015/ring-rail-line-opens-traffic-1-july-travel-airport-aviapolis-station-6846|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Route== thumb|right|The P train (shown here) travels from central Helsinki to the airport via Myyrmäki and Martinlaakso in western Vantaa. The I train does the same via Tikkurila in eastern Vantaa. 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.<ref name="liikennevirasto2012-09-06"/><ref>{{cite web | title = Kehäradan reitti ja asemat | url = http://www.keharata.fi/?pageid=2&parent0=2 | publisher = Kehärata | access-date = 6 February 2011 }}</ref>
The line is served by the "P" and "I" trains which travel the ring clockwise and anticlockwise respectively. The journey time from the airport to Helsinki Central Railway Station is 27 minutes ("P" train) or 32 minutes ("I" train), whilst the time to Tikkurila, to connect with long-distance trains going north or east, is 8 minutes. Both trains operate every 10 minutes in the daytime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hsl.fi/en/news/2015/ring-rail-line-trains-will-stop-all-stations-6325|title=Ring Rail Line trains will stop at all stations|publisher=HSL|date=14 April 2015|access-date=1 July 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114314/https://www.hsl.fi/en/news/2015/ring-rail-line-trains-will-stop-all-stations-6325|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Stations == [[file:Leinelän rautatieasema 2015-07-01.JPG|230px|thumb|Leinelä, one of the new stations, in 2015.]] In the first phase, five new stations were built at Vehkala, Kivistö, Aviapolis, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Leinelä. Out of these, the Aviapolis and Airport stations are located in a tunnel. Reservations have been made for three additional stations: Petas (surface), Viinikkala (tunnel) and Ruskeasanta (tunnel).
==Cost== The projected cost of the construction is €655 million as of September 2012,<ref name="liikennevirasto2012-09-06">{{cite web |url=http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/f/hankkeet/kaynnissa/keharata/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/valmis%202015 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-09-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024162531/http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/f/hankkeet/kaynnissa/keharata/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/valmis%202015 |archive-date=2014-10-24 }}</ref> up from €605 million in March 2010.<ref name="yle2010-03-17">{{cite web | title = Vantaan Kehärata-projekti etenee kuin juna | url = http://yle.fi/alueet/helsinki/helsinki/2010/03/vantaan_keharata-projekti_etenee_kuin_juna_1537404.html | publisher = YLE Helsinki | date = 17 March 2010 | access-date = 6 February 2011 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110228035918/http://yle.fi/alueet/helsinki/helsinki/2010/03/vantaan_keharata-projekti_etenee_kuin_juna_1537404.html | archive-date = 28 February 2011 }}</ref> The estimated cost of the project in December 2014 was €738.5 million.<ref name="Liikennevirasto: Kehärata">{{cite web | title = Liikennevirasto: Kehärata | url = http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/f/hankkeet/kaynnissa/keharata | publisher = Liikennevirasto | access-date = 2012-09-06 | archive-date = 2011-09-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110915081007/http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/f/hankkeet/kaynnissa/keharata | url-status = dead }}</ref> The current estimated cost of the project is €773.8 million<ref name="Liikennevirasto: Kehärata"/>
== Future development == Separate proposals exist to extend the Helsinki Metro to the airport,<ref>{{cite web | title = Lentokenttämetro, Toiminnalliset tarkastelut | url = http://www.hel.fi/static/hkl/HKL_Julkaisusarja_D/D3-2006Lentokenttmetron+toiminnalliset+tarkastelut_2006.pdf |publisher = Helsinki Regional Transport Authority | year = 2006 | page = 3 | access-date = 13 January 2016 }}</ref> and to move long-distance services from the current main North-South corridor to a new railway between Pasila and Kerava, passing through the airport. This new route, known as Lentorata, would travel in a long tunnel under the airport and allow direct access from long-distance trains, as well as free the rail capacity taken up by long-distance traffic in the current main corridor for the increasing local commuter traffic.<ref>{{cite web | title = Lentoaseman kaukoliikennerata, Ratayhteysselvitys | url = http://www2.liikennevirasto.fi/julkaisut/pdf3/ls_2010-02_lentoaseman_kaukoliikennerata_web.pdf | publisher = Finnish Transport Agency | year = 2010 | page = 7 | access-date = 13 January 2016 | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053424/http://www2.liikennevirasto.fi/julkaisut/pdf3/ls_2010-02_lentoaseman_kaukoliikennerata_web.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>
== See also == * Helsinki City Rail Loop * Jokeri light rail * Länsimetro * Lentorata
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Vantaankoski–Tikkurila railway}} * [http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/e/projects/under_construction/ring_rail_line Finnish Transport Agency > Projects > Under construction > Ring Rail Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910102229/http://portal.liikennevirasto.fi/sivu/www/e/projects/under_construction/ring_rail_line |date=2015-09-10 }}
{{coord missing|Finland}} {{Railway lines in Finland}}
Category:Railway lines in Finland Category:Transport in Vantaa Category:5 ft gauge railways in Finland Category:Railway tunnels in Finland Category:Airport rail links Category:Railway lines opened in 2015 Category:2015 establishments in Finland Category:Underground commuter rail Category:Buildings and structures completed in 2015 Category:Urban ring railways