The Finnish Transport Agency will implement the project alliance model for the renovation of the railway section between Lielahti and Kokemäki.  The pilot project will be carried out in cooperation with VR Track Ltd as the first project alliance contract in Europe.

Schedule

The alliance was formed in April-July 2011 and began its operations on 11 August 2011.  The current project development phase will continue until June 2012 after which the implementation phase of the project takes place.

• The planning decision for the railway design of the Lielahti–Kokemäki project alliance was made on 16 September 2011.
• The railway plan and the construction plan will be drafted in 2011–2012.
• The railway plan will be presented in spring 2012 and the construction decision will be made upon approval of the railway plan and project plan.
• The renovation of the railway will be completed in 2015.

Present situation

The railway Lielahti–Kokemäki is part of the railway Tampere–Pori, which was opened to traffic in 1895. The length of the railway section to be improved is about 90 km. The railway section was straightened in the 1960's–1980's and was completed in 1987. 

About 40 trains a day run on the railway, a third of which are passenger trains. There are 11 traffic operating points on the railway section and passenger trains stop at four of these: Nokia, Karkku, Vammala and Kokemäki. There is a total of 30 level crossings on the railway and two crossings over platforms (in Vammala and Kokemäki).  The main transport flows are made up of paper transports from Jämsänjokilaakso to the Port of Rauma and transports of metals, minerals and concentrates to Harjavalta.

Lielahti–Kokemäki is a single-track, electrified, and remote-controlled railway and it is part of the automatic train-running control (ATC) system. The railway superstructure was partly replaced in the 1980's. The maximum permissible speed is 140 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains (with an axle load of ≤ 20 tonnes or less) or 100 km/h (with an axle load of ≤ 22.5 tonnes or less). The aim of the freight traffic is to reach a speed of 80–100 km/h with an axle load of 25 tonnes.