First of the new Variotram low floor Light Rail units of Helsinki City Transport Authority at Vallila depot loop in May 1999. Foto Antero Alku.
Dear reader,
I'm sorry to offer this site mostly in Finnish. But there is plenty of high quality English Light Rail and Tramway sites in the Internet. And I believe, that nearly everything that I have included into my site can be found in some of the other sites. But what comes to some special details I believe are specific for Finland or in my work, I have translated them to English.
The structure of this English version is therefore not equal to the Finnish site. I have built the English site as an independent site, based on the items I have included. If you wish to browse the Finnish version, you may notice an English link where the content can be found in the English site.
The raseon why this site is mostly in Finnish is that modern public rail transport is not well known in Finland. At the moment there is only one city, the capital Helsinki, having rail bound public transport in Finland. The development of the Helsinki tram network finished in 1950's when a decision to build an underground was finally made in 1969. Very few new tram tracs have been opened since, and the tram network has remained in traditional street track form.
The lack of knowledge in Finland has been rised in view in Helsinki urban area, where Helsinki city opened a short metro line after 10 years of test run in 1982. The idea to build an underground was proposed in 1955 and the final decision to build a metro was made in 1969. Durin these years the Light Rail ideas originating to the beginning of the 1900's were changed to heavy rail. The growth of the Helsinki population ended in 1960's, and when the heavy metro was finally in service, it was too heavy for the size of the city.
It was sad, that at the same time as the idea of the Stadtbahn was discovered in Germany, same ideas were put aside in Helsinki. And when the first Stadtbahn lines started to operate, Helsinki started to run test drives with metro trains developed from the scratch in Finnish industry. And all this ended up into situation, where Light Rail ideas were totally ejected and the tram network was planned to be closed in Helsinki too, as what happened in an other Finnish city Turku in 1972.
The pressure to extend the short metro line grow during the 1980's. I was asked to estabilish a pressing group to promote less expensive and environmental friendly Light Rail solutions in stead of extending the heavy metro. Very soon we noticed, that no-one understood what we were talking about. It was a time without Internet, so the information we distributed the old fashion way was forgotten in the end of 1990's. In this situation the first Light Rail site was publsihed in 1999. It included the information I made in the end of 1980's for the first time in paper form. This site is following that work but using the methods suitable for Internet.
In the beginning of 2008 the situation in Finland and in Helsinki area still remains much the same as already during 30–40 years. There are strong forces trying to extend the metro at least to west in Espoo, even though the latest study again proved, that it will increase the car use and cost of public transport. And again, the price tag has risen being now near 1,000 million euros for only 14 kms underground line. The knowledge about modern public transport is minimal and misinformation dominates the public discussion. This has also made difficult to go on with the plans of estabilishing a tram to city of Tampere 170 kms north from Helsinki and to return Trams in Turku.
But some positive signs still exist. Helsinki city planning has taken the tram into account with few development areas, including in Helsinki revolutionary first extensions to suburbs to Malmi and over or under the sea to Kruunuvuorenranta and Laajasalo. In the city, the soon former harbour areas Jätkäsaari in west and Kalasatama, Sompasaari and Hermanninranta in east will have trams. In Tampere a study from 2007 recommends on ground tram system to be built to solve the growth of traffic in the city centre. In Turku the city will order a study about public transport development including modern tram network. This work should be ready to the end of 2008.
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My name is Antero Alku, and I am a master of sciencies in engineering. I finished my studies in 1980 in Tampere University of Technology. I started my carreer in automotive industry but later I worked near 20 years in computer business.
As said above, I was asked to estabilish a pressing group to promote Light Rail already in the end of 1980's. I was also asked to join politics in early 1990's, but I did not. In the beginning of 2000's I started to think politics again. I joined to city council election in 2004 and now I am a vice member in the Helsinkin city planning committee. In practice I am a member, as we share the meetings with my counterpart depending on available time and items to discuss. It has been very interesting work and it has made me feel that the decision to join politics was the right choice.
I have written two books about public rail transport. The first one was published in 2002 with the name Raitiovaunu tulee taas (Tram is coming again). The Finnish title can be understood two ways. Either it means that a tram is approaching the stop, but it can be also understood that trams are returning as a menas of public transport. This book is sold out.
My second book was released in June 2007 with name Mennäänkö metrolla? – Joukkoliikenteen uusi aika. (Let's take Light Rail – The new Era of Public Transport). The Finnish name includes a word ’metro’ in the place of ’Light Rail’. That is because there is no proper translation for the German word ’Stadtbahn’ which for the most means what is modern integrated rail bound public transport. When a Finn travels in one of the worlds Light Rail or Stadtbahn systems, he says that he sits in a metro. Because often they are larger than Helsinki trams and operates faster compared to Helsinki, where trams often stand in traffic jams. The Helsinki metro is not a commuter train, it is faster and larger than trams in Helsinki and its track is underground in the city centre and on ground in suburbs. Just like the Stadtbahn, only street sections are missing. For you who are more familiar with rail traffic, I can compare Helsinki metro for the most to the Berlin S-Bahn.
Few years ago I decided to switch from computer business to transport and I started to continue my studies in 2005. I study now in Helsinki University of Technology for a doctorate. My studies include traffic planning and urban planning and design. The subject of the study plan is ”Determining the suitability of public transport.”
Meanwhile I also run my own engineering office, which is specialized to public transport and rail transport.
This site is created by Antero Alku, M.Sc. (eng).
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Made by Antero Alku, 25.3.2003 | Latest update 6.2.2008 / AA