Turku votes to bring back trams in surprise city council result

The city of Turku has voted to restore tram services after more than 60 years, in a city council meeting that produced several unexpected twists, Yle reports.

The council voted late on Monday evening to reintroduce tram traffic to the city. Trams last ran in Finland’s former capital in 1972.

The first surprise of the evening was that the yes vote prevailed at all. Ahead of the meeting, opponents of the tram project were widely expected to hold a narrow majority. A survey conducted by Yle among council members had suggested opponents held a lead of as many as five votes.

The second surprise was the margin of victory. The final result was 36 votes in favour and 31 against, a considerably clearer outcome than the single-vote difference that had been predicted.

The tide began to turn before the meeting even opened. Tram opponent Terhi Vörlund-Wallenius, an independent councillor affiliated with the Greens, announced she could not attend due to a family member’s health problems. Her substitute, deputy councillor Matti Vähä-Heikkilä of the Greens, was a tram supporter. Then Muhiadin Hersi of the Left Alliance, the only councillor whose position had not been known in advance, also declared support for the project. Timo Nurmio of the Social Democrats, who had not responded to Yle’s survey and was expected to vote against, announced during the debate that he would follow his group’s decision and vote in favour.

The third and most dramatic surprise came near the end of the debate, when Elina Ruohonen of the National Coalition Party announced she had changed her mind and was joining the supporters. Ruohonen had opposed the tram project until the very last moment. Journalists at the back of the council chamber turned to one another and asked: “Sorry, what did she just say?”

The fourth surprise was the meeting’s moderate length. Despite fears that proceedings could stretch well into Tuesday, a decision was reached in five hours. By comparison, when Tampere city council took a similar decision ten years ago, it took nearly six hours.

The fifth and final surprise was the tone of the meeting. The atmosphere was measured and respectful throughout. Tram opponent Muhis Azizi of the National Coalition Party remarked on this himself, praising the fair conduct of the debate. He drew laughter from the chamber when he observed that if the meeting went on long enough, everyone would eventually come around to supporting the tram.

Turku, Finland’s oldest city, will mark its 800th anniversary in 2029. Trams will not yet be running by then, but construction work is expected to be well under way if the schedule holds. Tram services are projected to begin in autumn 2033.