West Rail company may sign shareholder pact within weeks

The shareholder agreement for the western rail link between Turku and Helsinki could be signed within weeks, Yle reports. The agreement can be completed once the administrative courts in Turku and Helsinki have issued interim decisions on all outstanding appeals.

Pekka Ottavainen, chief executive of Länsirata Oy, the project company established to plan and build the rail link, said the signing would then depend on the schedules of the shareholder municipalities and the Finnish state.

Ottavainen said the only outstanding interim decision concerns appeals filed in Espoo. Decisions have already been issued concerning the other shareholder municipalities.

An interim decision is a separate ruling by an administrative court on an appellant’s request to halt implementation. The court’s consideration of the appeal continues afterwards.

After the shareholder agreement is signed, Länsirata Oy will expand its resources and recruit more planners. Ottavainen said planning the construction will require thousands of hours of work.

He estimates that major construction will begin in 2028 or 2029, with preparatory work starting earlier.

Länsirata Oy’s shareholders are the Finnish state and the cities of Turku, Espoo and Helsinki, as well as Salo, Lohja and Vihti.