Helsinki Crown Bridges line start testing

In 2016 the city council in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, approved a project to link islands to the east of the city centre with three new bridges that would carry a tramway, pedestrians and cyclists, but no motor traffic. 10km of new tramway would be required connecting with the existing metre-gauge tramway system at to permit a through service to the city centre. There islands are being redeveloped with new housing and 22 500 new residents should be living there by the end of the decade. The infrastructure project costs are EUR 326M plus EUR 25M for a new depot and EUR 80M for rolling stock. In 2021 operator city tramway operator HKL ordered 23 ForCity Smart Artic X54 trams from Skoda-Transtech, a model already in use on the Jokeri orbital light rail line 15 north of the city opened in 2023. these 34.5m double-ended trams can carry up to 214 passengers (78 seated). 

 

The three new Crown Bridges that carry the tramway are the Merihaka (422m), Finke (293m) and Kruunuvüorensilta (1228m). Construction started in 2021/22 and was completed in 2026, with opening for pedestrians and cyclists on 18 April. The first tram to be tested across the bridges ran on 7 April, with full-scale testing and training now in progress. The first passengers should be carried in early 2027, on a line that will run from the outer terminus Ylisylän keskus to an interchange with existing line 13 at Nihti and a city terminus at Hakaniemi, offering interchange with the metro. A tramway branch is being built on Laajasalo Island to Haakoninlahti and when this is ready a through service to Helsinki central station is expected to be offered.