Vantaa trolleybus project inflated costs and moving the terminus from the airport to Aviapolis have sparked a lot of discussion and criticism.
Vantaa city government discussed the updated project plan at its meeting today.
We compiled five points from the updated project plan for a closer look.
1. You cannot get to the airport by trolley
In the initial phase, a section of a good kilometer will be left unbuilt at the western end of the tram line, which would have taken it near the terminal of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Now the western terminus is in Aviapolis, next to the new Aviation Museum. The rest of the journey to the airport must be taken by train or bus.
Deputy Mayor Tero Anttilan according to, there are several reasons behind the stop change.
During the planning phase, it became clear that the construction of the planned bridge at the end of the airport would have taken up to four years, and during this time the parking garage, hotel and office building next to the bridge would have had to be taken out of use for even years.
According to Anttila, last winter it also became apparent that Finavia has its own plans for the long-term development of the terminal entrance.
Mayor Pekka Timonen according to the decision, around 25 million euros in construction costs will be saved. In addition, Timonen estimates that the most significant big benefits of the trolley project, such as the increase in the number of residents and new jobs, will mainly come from elsewhere along the route.
2. The target price increased by more than 100 million euros
City of Vantaa told the public on Friday, that according to the new estimate of the ratikka alliance, the final price of the whole is 750 million euros, of which Vantaa’s financial contribution is 541 million.
In the project plan approved in 2023, the total price was 647 million euros, of which Vantaa’s financial share was 448 million.
According to Mayor Timonen, the most significant reason for the price increase of over one hundred million is the general increase in cost levels. This can be seen especially in the bridge structures, which are abundant in the project.
The second is more detailed calculations of, for example, the transfer of various power lines and pipes.
According to Timonen, the target price announced now has been strictly calculated, taking into account all the details of the entire route. So, according to Timonen, there is no slack in the price so that the target price could easily be undershot.
– Yes, it is now as strictly calculated as possible. The entire route has been covered meter by meter. In the alliance model, all parties commit to it, and everyone also has a motive to undercut that price.
According to the calculations presented by the city to the media, alliances in Finland usually have a target price undercut by approximately 3–15 percent.
For example, the alliance undercut the costs of the Helsinki expressway, or Raide-Joker, by nine percent. In the case of the Tampere trolleybus, the undercutting was 3–5 percent.
3. We compromise on the development of cycling connections
In the new project plan of the Vantaa streetcar, it is stated that the quality level of the street environment and the development of cycling connections will remain narrower than the level of the project plan on some lines.
According to Mayor Timonen, this means in practice that the construction of some cycling lanes will be postponed.
– When the construction of a trolley city progresses in time, it makes sense in many places to implement such things only as the city built around it progresses.
Ultimately, according to Timonen, it’s about prioritization: what to do now and what to do later.
He mentions as a concrete example I am building a new residential areawhich is to be built between the airport and Ring Road in the Veromie district. In the initial phase, bike paths will not be built in Muura to the extent that was previously intended.
4. Estimated fewer residents and jobs
In connection with the framework of the trolley, it was estimated that the number of inhabitants of the trolley corridor will more than double from the current situation, reaching around 124,000 inhabitants in 2050.
The number of jobs was estimated to increase to approximately 83,000 jobs in 2050. With the revision of the project plan, the change is 1,500 residents and 500 jobs less compared to the 2023 project plan.
Now the estimated number of inhabitants is about 122,500 and the number of jobs is about 82,500.
5. Income higher than estimated
Even though the price is inflated and many points are being cut, the city management emphasizes that the estimated revenues of the tram project will exceed its investment costs in the long term.
– The service life of the trolley is long, and therefore the benefit must also be calculated over a long period of time. The investment is profitable, but it takes a long time, says Timonen.
He reminds us of the larger whole that results from the implementation of a large construction project. For example, the employment impact of the construction phase has been calculated as 8,250 person-years, which is of the same order of magnitude as With the icebreaker orders agreed with the United States.
