Planning of the Karelian railway (Luumäki-Joutseno)

ended

The Karelian railway section from Luumäki to Joutseno (44 km) is a single-track railway section in Eastern Finland. It is part of the TEN-T comprehensive network. It is a connection to the core RRT of Kouvola and core ports of Kotka and Hamina. After approval of the updated TEN-T Regulation, 30 km of the railway will be on the Scan-Med corridor. This section is one of the busiest single-track sections in Finland and it has been identified as one of the most challenging track sections in terms of capacity. Both freight and passenger transport operate on the same track. Luumäki–Joutseno forms a bottleneck in the Karelian railway as the maximum speed of the track is 140 km/h and the axle weight is 22.5 tons while the surrounding railway sections are double-tracks that enable speed of 200 km/h and axle weight of 250 kN. There is also a need to lengthen the tracks at the Lauritsala traffic operating point located in the railway section. This project consists of the railway planning of the Luumäki–Joutseno double-track section and the Lauritsala rail yard. Along with the increase in capacity, the goal is to increase the maximum speed of passenger traffic to 200 km/h and enable an axle weight of 250 kN. Improvement of the Lauritsala rail yard will also make it possible to increase train lengths and reduce the total number of freight trains which lightens the load on the track section. This project will help remove a significant bottleneck of the Finnish railway network, by doubling capacity, improving the service level and punctuality of traffic, enabling the launch of the commuter traffic, and reducing the sensitivity to disruptions as well as the operating conditions of freight traffic. The travel time of passenger trains will reduce by 6-10 minutes and travel time of freight trains by 15 minutes. The improved infrastructure will improve the competitiveness of the passenger and freight rail service and further induce a modal shift from road to rail.