Ring Rail Line to bring changes to the public transport route network in Vantaa

The public transport route network in Vantaa will undergo a
major reform in 2015 when train services will start on the Ring
Rail Line. Bus services will be adapted to the situation where an
increasing number of journeys are made by rail.

The Ring Rail Line will provide a fast, high-frequency public
transport service to, for example, Leinelä, Aviapolis and Kivistö
as well to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Crosstown services in Vantaa will improve when it becomes
possible to travel, for example, from Tikkurila to Myyrmäki by
train instead of bus. Also bus services between these centers and
the airport will be replaced by train.

At the same time as services on the Ring Rail Line start, a new
trunk bus route 560 will start operating.  The crosstown trunk bus
service modeled after the Jokeri route will run from Vuosaari to
Myyrmäki.

HSL has planned the future bus route network so that it will
provide extensive feeder connections to train stations. Also, HSL
wants to improve public transport service in the growing
residential and employment areas.

Bus route network has been simplified by reducing the number of
route variations. Also, the aim is to switch to demand-responsive
service routes planned on the basis of the needs of the elderly and
mobility impaired people, in particular.

Residents involved in route network planning

HSL has been preparing the reorganization of the public
transport route network in Vantaa in close cooperation with
representatives of the City of Vantaa since spring 2011.

In 2012, HSL had four planning projects for different areas in
Vantaa, on the basis of which a route network plan covering the
whole of Vantaa has been drawn.

In spring 2012, route network plans were completed for
Korso-Koivukylä and the Aviapolis area, with the plans for
Tikkurila-Hakunila and western Vantaa being completed at the end of
2012.

Residents have been participating in the route networking
planning, for example, via blogs and residents’ meetings. HSL
received a total of 1,400 feedback responses on the plans, which
have been utilized in the planning.

A separate service route network plan has been prepared for
Vantaa together with the City of Vantaa Social and Health Care
Services, and senior citizens’ groups and disability
organizations. 

Also, HSL has been developing an operating model for the Ring
Rail Line train services, and working out the operating costs,
which will increase by about EUR 9.8 million a year. Bus service
operating costs will decrease.

The impacts of the route network plan for Vantaa on travel times
and loads on different routes have also been assessed. Travel time
savings are calculated to amount to about two million hours a
year.