Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2011 | Page 59

lishing operations in someplace
new, two questions spring to
mind: will the over-all logistics
work from the perspective of the
company? And how does the logistics puzzle look to the employees when they head home
after work?
The companies in the region get connected to the world,
thanks to the airport and the new
Vuosaari Harbour. In addition,
the road network is also very
developed, with Ring Road III
serving as the main artery.
“And from the employees’
point of view, the train is a very
convenient way of making the
trip between home and office.”
The 18-kilometre line will
bring rail services to completely
new areas in Vantaa, and feeder traffic will allow people who
live farther away to take advantage of services as well. The
Ring Rail Line promises to be
as green as they come: the connection will reduce the need for
bus and car traffic along with associated environmental impacts,
thus promoting the EU’s climate
policy objectives.
How does it all work in
practice? Well, the Ring Rail
Line will be a two-track urban line reserved exclusively for passenger traffic. Brand
new SM5 low-floor trains designed for commuter services will operate on the line. The
trains will run at 10-minute intervals in both directions during peak periods; rail capacity
can be utilised more efficiently
since trains will be able to run
in a loop. The journey time from
the centre of Helsinki to the airport will be about half an hour.
The maximum line speed will
be 120 km/h.
One noteworthy fact is that
the Ring Rail Line will go under
the airport in an 8-kilometre tunnel, which in turn calls for excavation effort similar to that of
the west metro project.

Greener Living
According to the plans, more environmentally-conscious communities will bloom along the
tracks, contributing to a more
cohesive city structure.
The initial plans call for
surface stations in Kivistö and
Leinelä as well as the Aviapolis and Airport tunnel stations.

There are reservations made for
additional stations under ground
in Ruskeasanta and Viinikkala
and on the surface in Vehkala
and Petas. At the moment, however, it looks like Vehkala will
be realised in the first wave of
the development.
“We want to launch Vehkala at the same time with the
original stations,” Peltomäki says, adding that there have
been talks about putting Ruskeasanta on the fast track as well.
According to predictions,
the busiest stations will be
Kivistö and Airport. The first
new community along the Ring
Rail is Leinelä which will feature high-quality living close to
nature.
“At Kivistö, there is additional construction going on
which is considerably solidifying the community structure.”

Aviapolis Flies High
From the perspective of businesses, there will be plenty of interesting places to set up operations along the rails, but Aviapolis is still the one to beat. Having earned its wings many times
over, Aviapolis leads the country in the growth of jobs. Aviapolis is a true international success
story which is frequently used by
such experts as Professor John
D. Kasarda as a great example
of airborne excellence (see the
interview on p. 10).
According to Peltomäki, Aviapolis has a strong track
record and the City can see
no reason as to why this trend
would end. After all, in today’s
world, great connections are
everything. For those companies aiming to get a piece of
the Asian market, for instance,
Helsinki-Vantaa is a solid option, since Finland has the fastest routes from Europe to Asia.
This works both ways, of course
– in the next phase of globalisation, many Asian companies are
finding their way to Europe, and
may soon come to realise that
Aviapolis and its neighbouring
areas offer everything they need.
When it comes to the residential side, the hidden pearl of
Aviapolis is Aerola which is anchored by legendary Alvar Aalto’s designs. Once fully developed, Aerola will feature thousands of residents.

Sea Support
The new element in the mix is
the Vuosaari Harbour which was
opened two years ago. However, the global recession put the
flow of goods in a stranglehold
right afterwards and things still
haven’t normalised fully.
“We don’t know the full
effect of Vuosaari yet, but it
will be considerable,” Peltomäki says, pointing out that industrial areas such as Vantaa Axis
get a big boos Ё