Finland signs ‘unique’ alliance deal to support ERTMS rollout

FINLAND: Infrastructure manager Väylävirasto has signed a €70 million service alliance deal with six companies to support the rollout of ERTMS in southern and western Finland, advancing the Digirail programme across one of the country’s busiest rail regions.

The agreement covers three rollout zones totalling around 970 km, spanning the Helsinki metropolitan area, Southwest Finland and the main line north to Seinäjoki. The alliance will provide design, construction consultancy and commissioning inspection services for the upgrade of Finland’s train control system to ERTMS.

The alliance brings together Finnish, Nordic and international engineering consultancies, including Welado, Ramboll’s Finnish businesses, Swedish-origin Rejlers and Sweco, and Canadian-headquartered WSP. Equipment suppliers and construction contracts will be tendered separately, while the alliance will prepare the design, advisory and inspection groundwork for the later delivery stages. Väylävirasto says the implementation model is ‘unique in Finland and Europe’.

A development phase will run until the end of 2026. After that, the alliance will support the rollout through annual work packages until 2034, when Väylävirasto aims to have ERTMS in place across rollout areas 2, 3 and 4 within the Digirail programme. This includes the Helsinki commuter network, the rail corridors across Southwest Finland and the main northbound route through Tampere towards Seinäjoki.

Busiest parts of the network

Talking about the sections the alliance will cover, Juha Lehtola, Project Manager at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Väylävirasto), said, ‘These areas form a unique entity with the most actively used railway lines in Finland. The starting point for the project was to assemble a team with a clear goal: ensure uninterrupted introduction of European rail traffic control in track sections 2, 3 and 4 by the summer of 2034.’

Väylävirasto says the alliance model is intended to secure broad expertise through the long rollout, with the partners working towards a shared delivery target rather than across separate interfaces. The agency has described the implementation model as unique in Finland and Europe.

‘Having such a versatile team allows different areas of business to focus on a single goal without interfaces and conflicting interests,’ Lehtola said. ‘In the alliance, we succeed together, no party can win by acting alone. This principle is integrated into the implementation model.’

National rollout to 2040

The wider Digirail programme is intended to roll out ERTMS across Finland’s rail network, replacing the country’s existing train control system. he programme divides the national rail network into 11 track section areas, known in the project as ROAs (from the Finnish term rataosa-alue), with safety equipment to be renewed and modernised in phases between 2025 and 2040.

The Digirail programme started in 2019 and has been in the development and verification phase since 2021. Väylävirasto said the introduction of ERTMS is an ‘exceptionally extensive project in Finland and also on a European scale. Our goal is very ambitious and the project requirements will be high. We will show the way for all of Europe.’

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