West Railway plan for Salo–Hajala railway becomes final

This is the first railway plan created by a project company to be approved by Traficom.

West Railway Ltd’s railway plan for the construction of a double-track railway between Salo and Hajala has become final. Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, approved the railway plan on 4 December 2024 and published the approval decision on 18 December 2024. The approval decision was available to the public until 24 January 2025. As no complaints were filed regarding the decision, the decision became final.

The Salo–Hajala railway plan is part of the overall West Railway project, which comprises the construction of a reliable and fast rail link between Helsinki and Turku for the purposes of commuter and intercity traffic. The plans between Salo and Hajala include the construction of a double-track railway by the existing track, which would both improve the capacity of the current rail link and enable the implementation of the full West Railway link.

Significant milestone in the West Railway planning project

In practice, the approval of the railway plan means that the company can prepare to start the cadastral surveys related to the railway and the railway construction in accordance with the railway plan. However, proceeding to the construction phase still requires a decision from the West Railway shareholders, so the approval of the railway plan will not yet have any immediate effects.

“The approval of the railway plan between Salo and Hajala is a significant milestone for us because it’s the first of our railway plans to be approved. At the same time, it’s also the first approval decision granted to a project company for a railway plan in Finland,” says Pekka Ottavainen, Managing Director of West Railway Ltd.

“In practice, the approval of the railway plan means that we’re again one step closer to the actual construction of the railway between Salo and Hajala. As we’ve previously stated, proceeding to the construction phase still requires a decision from our shareholders, which is currently being discussed. According to our schedule, the construction planning for the Salo–Hajala section is set to start this year, and the actual construction is set to start in 2027,” says Ottavainen.

First approval in Finland for property-specific noise protection measures in a railway project

The approval of the railway plan included the approval of the railway route, which can be marked on the ground. The decision also allows the expropriation of designated land and rights for the cadastral surveys related to the railway. The decision also approved the measures presented by the company for the elimination and mitigation of the adverse effects of the construction and railway traffic.

One of the most significant measures for the mitigation of adverse effects presented in the Salo–Hajala railway plan is property-specific noise protection. The West Railway is the first railway project in Finland to plan for the use of new noise protection methods.

“Our team has done great work in the planning project, so I’d like to thank all the West Railway employees. One reason for the establishment of project companies was to seek out new solutions, and that has also been our plan with the West Railway. One example of such solutions is the noise protection, which has been planned in a way that hasn’t been previously used in Finnish railway projects,” says Pekka Ottavainen, Managing Director of West Railway Ltd.

“Previously, railway projects have utilized traditional means of noise protection such as noise walls and berms in the railway area. We plan to use property-specific noise protection measures to supplement the traditional methods and, in some cases, also partially to replace the traditional methods,” says Ottavainen.

The property-specific noise protection measures, which are always only carried out with the property owner’s consent, include replacing windows, providing additional insulation for walls, and soundproof air vents. The goal of property-specific noise protection is to mitigate the adverse effects of the momentary high levels of noise caused by railway traffic and to improve living comfort and, in some cases, to avoid the unnecessary expropriation of properties.

Further information:

Pekka Ottavainen, Managing Director, West Railway Ltd
tel. +358 400 261 097
pekka.ottavainen@lansirata.fi