Test runs between Leppävaara and Helsinki’s Patterimäki tunnel will continue throughout February.
Brakes screeching on Espoo’s Perkkaantie when a white Nissan Micra stops in the middle of the lane. The driver turns on his blinkers and rushes to the sidewalk to photograph the passing tram.
Raide-Jokeri has arrived in Espoo. This is probably the first time a tram runs in the city.
The historical moment was witnessed by a large number of local residents and ratikkabongars in Perkkaa. Espoo’s public administration had organized a tent at the Vermo stop, next to which there was also an airplane booth and a nature photographer Mikko Köykkä had positioned his camera and Jenny Hurtola-Köykän with.
Like a good bongar, Köykkä had started Wednesday at the Ravitie stop, which is the first stop on the Espoo side. It’s nice to document a historical moment in the right place.
Jenny Hurtola-Köykä’s everyday life will be especially made easier by Raide-Joker, because in the future she will be able to ride a tram from her doorstep to her workplace.
Same A teacher from Ruusuvuore school was also waiting happily With Pippa Alkhatib. Alkhatib had brought his students to witness the historic moment. Four-month-old puppy Vinski doesn’t quite know how to focus on the tram yet, but rushes through the crowd collecting treats.
Alkhatib says that he moved from Leppävaara to Pitäjänmäki pretty much because of Raide-Joker. The commute is two stops apart.
“It’s a completely different thing to sit in a bus than in a trolley,” says Alkhatib. The students nod their heads.
Everyone is of the opinion that yes, the trolley will be used.
That’s where it comes from! Pirkko Aaltonen (right) is at just the right vantage point.
For a person from Espoo Pirkko Aaltonen Tuesday was already a celebration day, because then it was 50 years of living in the Suur-Perkka area. On Wednesday, he wanted to see how Espoo would join the group of Finland’s sparsely populated trolley cities.
“All the time, our traffic connections have become better and better. The Leppävaara train station is very close, and the tram service will start soon.”
Aaltonen is not so enthusiastic about the new construction of Perkka. Espoo has planned a lot of new apartment buildings and workplaces in the area.
“Raide-Joker will probably be used daily. Tram transport is so uncomplicated and a nice way to get around. The quality of life improves.”
Aaltonen’s two daughters and sister live in Helsinki. There is also something to do in Helsinki’s cultural tours.
Raide-Joker’s test drive continued on Wednesday towards the shopping center Sello in Leppävaara.
Raide-Joker’s in test driving traffic, crossing the municipal border is one important milestone, but there is still a lot to do before passenger traffic starts.
The trial run, which started last fall, is proceeding from east to west, so that until now the new Artic XL wagons manufactured at Škoda Transtech’s Kajaani factory have only run on the Helsinki side.
But the next two months are reserved for Espoo.
Throughout the month of February, test drives run between Helsinki’s Patterimäki tunnel and Leppävaara’s Alberga boulevard. In March, test drives will be conducted between Leppävaara and Keilaniemi terminus.
The test runs will end in Helsinki, where the easternmost section from the Roihupello depot to the Itäkeskus temporary terminus will be completed for testing later in the spring.
Passenger traffic from Helsinki’s Itäkeskus to Espoo’s Keilaniem will start next fall, when Helsinki Region Transport (HSL) decides on the matter.
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