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Transport infrastructure

Legislation on transport infrastructure is drafted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. These acts and decrees provide basic rules for the planning, construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure as well as for their closure, and they include Acts on private roads, the main road network and the railway network.

Wellbeing and competitiveness from good connections

When developing the infrastructure and traffic network, the Ministry aims at safe and effective travel and transport, striving to minimise emissions and other adverse effects.

In developing infrastructure and systems, the aim is at improved efficiency through new types of cooperation between various sectors and intelligent transport services. This new thinking is referred to as the Transport Revolution.

Infrastructure development and maintenance

The Ministry deals with issues relevant to maintaining and developing the public transport infrastructure. Transport infrastructure includes all public roads and streets, private roads, railways, maritime and inland waterways, the metro and tram systems. The Finnish Transport Agency, which operates in the administrative sector and under the direction of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, is responsible for road, railway and waterway maintenance. The Finnish Transport Agency outsources this work to companies by a tendering process.

Finavia Corporation, a user-financed state-owned limited liability company, is in charge of airports. Municipalities and cities assume responsibility for the maintenance and condition of the street network in their own area, funding these activities and investments from municipal tax revenue. Most Finnish ports are also owned by municipalities.

Responsibility for maintaining private roads is usually assumed by private road maintenance associations, private landowners, organisations or associations.

  • The total length of public roads in Finland is approx. 78,000 kilometres, of which the main road network (class I and II main roads) accounts for about 13,300 kilometres. The total length of motorways in Finland is 765 kilometres. Approximately two thirds of all public roads in Finland are paved.
  • The length of the operational rail network in Finland is 5,900 kilometres, of which 52 per cent has been electrified. About 90 per cent of the network consists of single-track lines.
  • The network of maritime and inland waterway routes maintained by a state enterprise is approx. 16,200 kilometres in length. Less than 4,000 kilometres of this consists of merchant shipping routes, while the total length of fairways with a minimum depth of 8 metres is 2,100 kilometres. This includes all fairways leading into winter ports.  
  • The value of all transport infrastructure and terminals in Finland is approx. Eur 30 billion, of which the state's share is some EUR 19 billion.

Transport infrastructure financing in the Budget for 2011

Infrastructure management and maintenance approx. EUR 908 million; plus a revenue of EUR 68 million. 

  • roads: EUR 554 million
  • railways: EUR 352 million
  • waterways: EUR 70 million

Approx. EUR 393 million for transport infrastructure development

  • roads: EUR 158 million
  • railways: EUR 161 million
  • waterways: EUR 22 million
  • joint ventures: EUR 24 million
  • compulsive purchases: EUR 28 million

Maintenance of public roads, railways and waterways is financed through central government funding set aside for basic infrastructure maintenance.

Major transport network development projects are decided by the Parliament on a case-by-case basis. These are generally projects costing tens of millions of euros. Such projects are granted a single contract authorisation covering all the project's construction costs. New projects are included in the Government's budget under the item for transport network development.

TEN-T, Trans-European transport networks

The European Union supports the development of Trans-European transport networks (TEN-T's). The TEN-T network comprises road, rail, inland and maritime waterway and flight connections in 27 European Union member states. The purpose of this uniform transport network is to enhance the EU's internal market and regional cohesion as well as to promote a sustainable transport system. Another important goal of creating a functional Trans-European transport network is improving regional competitiveness and employment.

The steps to improve the TEN-T network are relevant to, for example, completing missing links on major transport routes, eliminating transport bottlenecks and contributing to the functional interoperability of various modes of transport.

Infrastructure projects implemented by the Finnish Transport Agency

The Finnish Transport Agency assumes responsibility for implementing infrastructure projects adopted by the Parliament. The Ministry sets the Finnish Transport Agency annual targets, including ones related to the service standard and condition of infrastructures, safety as well as reducing and preventing environmental impacts. The Finnish Transport Agency submits to the Ministry biannual reports detailing the use of funds and the achievement of targets.