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Construction starts on bike tunnel beneath Helsinki Central Station

Cyclists will share the 220-metre tunnel with pedestrians and have access to a bicycle parking lot with 1,500 spaces.

Havainnekuva Kaisantunnelista Helsingin rautatieasemalla.
Illustrative rendering of the railway station's west side. Image: Sitowise Oy and Oladesign Oy
Yle News

More than 200 metres long, the underground cycling path is scheduled to be ready during 2023.

Construction of a tunnel for cyclists and pedestrians beneath the Helsinki Central Station has begun.

Once complete, the tunnel will significantly improve the movement of walkers and bikers between the sprawling station's east and west sides.

The new tunnel will measure about 220 metres in length and around eight metres wide. The bike lane will be four metres wide, while the width of the pedestrian lane will measure about 3.5 metres.

The project will also feature a new bicycle parking lot with space for around 1,500 bikes.

The City of Helsinki approved the project nearly two years ago, and at the time was estimated to cost around 23 million euros.

Story continues after photo.

Pyöräilijä
Cryill Suter biking in downtown Helsinki. Image: Matti Myller / Yle

Cyrill Suter, who was biking downtown towards the Kallio neighbourhood on Monday, said he was pleased about the plans.

"I think it'll be nice when there's a tunnel, it will shorten the trip," Suter told Yle.

Meanwhile Markku Kallioheimo, who was on his way from the post office, said he thinks the tunnel will improve safety around the station and that he hopes the underground lanes will be outfitted with good lighting as well as surveillance cameras to keep it safe around the clock.

Disruptions

Work on the project is expected to last until 2023, which means there will be disruptions to commonly-used routes around the station for some time, according to the project manager of the effort's construction firm Destia, Esa Juhantila.

"Yes, there will be quite a bit of turmoil in the small area. But we are striving to make everything as safe as possible and also aim to keep current traffic arrangements the same for as long as possible," Juhantila said.

However, the project will affect access to the sides of the railway station, particularly around platforms one, two and three (on the eastern side by Kaisaniemi park).

Story continues after photo.

Kaisatunnelin työmaa.
Construction equipment at Helsinki Central Station's platform one. Image: Matti Myller / Yle

The project will change routes to and from platforms 18 and 19 (on the station's west side near Oodi library), which means that trains using those platforms will be forced to stop nearly 100 metres farther away from the station as they normally do, which will force train riders to walk that extra distance, according to the city.

Juhantila said that the tunnel should be open to the public by March 2023, but by the end of that year at the latest.

He noted that digging underground can pose unexpected surprises, despite multiple studies on the area having been carried out.

"We have very clear knowledge about what is below, but it has not been possible to map all the cables and pipes, so the work must proceed very carefully in that respect," Juhantila said.

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