The Works

​Helsinki Trades Crowded Bus for LRT

Plus a Taipei adviser says new LRT line won't solve the city's traffic woes, and more in our weekly New Starts. 

A Helsinki bus (Photo by Anatoliy-024)

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Our weekly “New Starts” roundup of new and newsworthy transportation projects worldwide.

Finnish Government Makes Down Payment on LRT Line
The International Railway Journal reports that the government of Finland has put up €84 million ($95.8 million U.S.) towards the construction of a light rail line that would replace the busiest bus route in Helsinki.

The proposed Raide-Jokeri LRT line would connect northern Helsinki with the neighboring city of Espoo, running from Itäkeskus in eastern Helsinki through the northern Helsinki districts of Haaga, Pakila and Oulunkylä to Keilaniemi, Otaniemi and Leppävaara in Espoo.

The 33-station line would closely parallel the Route 550 bus line, which carries 40,000 passengers daily on buses that run at three-minute intervals. The light rail line can handle twice that number on trains that would run at five- to 10-minute intervals mostly in a reserved median.

The city of Espoo has also pledged €67 million ($76.4 million U.S.) towards the line’s construction. Before any shovels go in the ground, however, the cities of Espoo and Helsinki must commit to building the line, for which planning work is now under way at the municipal level. The two cities will make a final decision on construction by the end of June. If the cities decide to proceed, the line should open for passenger service before the Route 550 operating contract expires in 2022.

Will Micro-Housing or LRT Solve Taipei’s Traffic Woes?
The city government of Taipei is proceeding with plans to build a new light rail line connecting the city’s Xinyi district with Neihu district, a major technology employment center, but one of the city government’s policy advisors now says the line is the wrong solution to Neihu’s traffic problems.

Passengers wait to board the metro in Taipei (Photo by ericnvntr on flickr)

The Taipei Times reports that city policy adviser Ben Jai has said in a Facebook post that traffic congestion in Neihu is actually a housing problem rather than a transportation one because so many people work in the district but few live in it.

In his post, Jai called for the government of the Taiwan city to build “tech housing” consisting of small apartments ranging from 9.9 square meters (106.6 square feet) to 16.5 square meters (177.6 square feet) that would be rented out to workers in Neihu instead.

Jai also criticized Mayor Ko Wen-je for changing course on his previous skepticism about light rail as a solution to the area’s traffic problems. Former mayor Hau Ling-bin also spoke out against the proposed line, saying that he had proposed it during his administration but concluded it would be “somewhat unnecessary” after a feasibility study. Hau also recommended that Ko consult that feasibility study, but the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems plans to accept bids for a new feasibility study by July.

Bogota Scales Back Metro Plans
After determining that a planned 26.5-km (16.5-mile) underground line would be too expensive to build, the Bogota city government will solicit bids to build a shorter, all-elevated metro line next year, the International Railway Journal reports.

The line will be the first metro in the Colombian capital. Mayor Enrique Peñalosa said that land acquisition and utility relocations would begin in the latter half of this year to minimize traffic disruption once actual construction begins.

The original proposal called for a crosstown subway from Portal Américas to Calle 127, but in his campaign for mayor, Peñalosa questioned its $6.2 billion price tag and ordered a review of the line when he took office in January. The revised line will run 15 km (9.3 miles) from Portal Américas to Calle 6 in the city center. The Colombian government will provide 70 percent of the line’s construction cost.

Know of a project that should be featured in this column? Send a Tweet with links to @MarketStEl using the hashtag #newstarts.

The Works is made possible with the support of the Surdna Foundation.

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Next City contributor Sandy Smith is the home and real estate editor at Philadelphia magazine. Over the years, his work has appeared in Hidden City Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local and regional publications. His interest in cities stretches back to his youth in Kansas City, and his career in journalism and media relations extends back that far as well.

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Tags: transportation spendinglight railsubways

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