Tampere light rail

Tampere Tram
Tram on Hämeenkatu.
Tram on Hämeenkatu.
Overview
Native nameTampereen Ratikka
Area servedTampere, Finland
Transit typeLight rail
Number of lines2
Number of stops27
Annual ridership10 million (2021–22)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Operation
Began operation9 August 2021[1]
Operator(s)VR
Technical
System length16 km (9.9 mi) (phase 1)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification750 V DC overhead
Average speed19–22 km/h (12–14 mph)
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)
Map of the Tampere tram network from June 2024.
A tram on line 1 at its end stop at Sorin aukio square in central Tampere. The tracks physically end at this stop, the trams have to switch direction to continue their journey.

The Tampere light rail (Finnish: Tampereen raitiotie), branded as Tampere Tram (Finnish: Tampereen Ratikka), is a public transport system in Tampere, Finland. In November 2016, the Tampere city council approved plans to construct a 330-million-euro light rail system on the route from the city centre to Hervanta and to the Tampere University Hospital. Traffic on the first two lines of the route (lines 1 and 3) began on 9 August 2021.[1][2][3]

An extension from the city centre to Lentävänniemi is also under construction. It is aimed to be finished in 2024.[4][5] Along the route to Lentävänniemi, an artificial island called Näsisaari ("Näsi Island") near the shore of Lake Näsijärvi is also under construction, and it is planned to mainly serve the structure of light rail.[6] The first phase of the extension from Pyynikintori to Santalahti was opened in 2023.[3]

Unlike Turku, another Finnish city that is planning a new light rail system (see Turku light rail), Tampere had not had a previously existing tram or light rail system. The construction of a tram system in Tampere was seriously studied between the years 1907 and 1929, but left unrealised due to the high price of constructing such a system.[7]

Tampere is the fourth city in Finland to have a tram system but one of only two to still have trams in service, as Turku discontinued tram service in 1972 and Vyborg (already part of the Soviet Union at the time) did so in 1957.

  1. ^ a b HS: Tampereen ratikka aloittaa liikennöinnin – Näin hanke pysyi jatkuvasti jopa aikataulua edellä ja alitti budjetin Archived 2021-08-09 at the Wayback Machine (in Finnish)
  2. ^ "Suora lähetys kello 4.15: Aamulehti mukana Tampereen ensimmäisellä virallisella ratikkamatkalla - Tampere - Aamulehti". 7 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-09. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  3. ^ a b Koskinen, Anu Leena (13 August 2021). "Jopa sää oli Tampereen ratikan puolella, kun rakentaminen tuli 34 miljoonaa luultua halvemmaksi: kaupunkilaisten ei kannata vielä nuolaista" (in Finnish). YLE Uutiset. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Tampere tram project aims at 2021 completion". Yle News. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  5. ^ "Tampere to receive a tramway". 13 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  6. ^ Koskinen, Anu Leena; Siltanen, Mari (December 16, 2021). "Historiallinen päätös: Tampereella aletaan rakentaa Näsijärveen tekosaarta, josta pääsee ratikalla yli – myöhemmin saareen muuttaa tuhansia ihmisiä". YLE (in Finnish). Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Sirkiä, Hanna (2003). Hyvästi ny sitt – Raitsikat: Turun raitiovaunuliikenteen lakkautus 1961-1972 (PDF) (in Finnish). Turku: University of Turku. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2009.