Construction Design for the Joensuu Railway Yard was Handed Over to the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has received the construction plan prepared by Proxion for the Joensuu railway yard project. The functionality and operational reliability of the yard will be improved, e.g. with new safety equipment and traffic-management track. The punctuality of train traffic will be improved through track changes, separation of passenger and freight traffic, and electrification. A modern and functional railway yard supports the development of the Joensuu station area. Jetro Matilainen, the project manager of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, praised the efficiency and quality of the implementation of the large entity.
The history of the Joensuu railway yard, located close to the center of Joensuu, goes far back. The wooden station building and the first tracks were commissioned in 1894, the same year that Nicholas II came to power as the Grand Duke of Finland. Now, almost 130 years after the first commissioning, the yard is experiencing the biggest change in its history in the Joensuu Yard Improvement project, when the yard is almost completely overhauled. The yard rails, sleepers and crushed stone support layer are at the end of their lifecycle, and the current capacity of the yard is not enough for the growing train traffic.
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Proxion signed an agreement on the preparation of a construction plan on 15 May 2020, the total value of the design assignment was almost two million euros. The design was completed on a fast schedule, but without compromising on quality.
– Weekly meeting practices and obstacle logs monitored by technology area enabled the project to proceed efficiently, and traditional design meetings were not needed as often as normal. Effective communication, especially as the project progressed further, made it possible to succeed, praises Jetro Matilainen, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency’s project manager.
Proxion prepared plans for geometry, sub- and superstructures as well as the plans for electric tracks, high current and safety equipment, and the surveys and expert work related to these, for the Joensuu railway yard project. A-Insinöörit, Proxion’s sub-consultant, was responsible for the design of the skill structures. The design team consisted of more than 40 experts.
– The reform of the yard will be really comprehensive. “The construction design focused on modernizing the yard to be better and more accessible to yard users and businesses located in the area,” describes Hafizur Rahman, Proxion’s project manager.
– For Proxion, this has been a special place to prove oneself with the sub-consultant to complete a very large entity in a short time. Completing nearly 20,000 hours of expert work over nine months has shown that we are able to produce a high-quality, multidisciplinary set of plans in a tight corner. This has been an extremely fine achievement from both Proxion’s project team and the structural design at A-Insinöörit. The project would not have been completed without smooth cooperation with all parties, sums up Business Director Mikko Saarinen from Proxion.
A cost-effective entity serving modern traffic
Passenger train traffic to Helsinki is expected to increase from 12 to 14 trains by 2035. The Joensuu railway yard project contributes to the development of the Joensuu station area, the aim of which is, among other things, to increase city-oriented jobs and the population of the city center. The goal of developing the station area is set at 3,500 new jobs and 6,000 new residents by 2030. The aim of the project is to reduce train transport and maintenance costs by EUR 3.3 million per year.
– Joensuu railway yard is a large entity on a Finnish scale. “In the future, in addition to more than 15 tracks, a large number of different activities will be located in the area of the railway yard. Raised platforms, overpasses and barrier-free fairways, among other things, have been designed to service the area,” Rahman concludes.
