NTO Transport and Traffic

This section introduces facts and figures of the transport system, traffic and its impacts in Finland and in the Southern Finland Transport Corridor:

• National overview: The relative length of transport networks in Finland is above the EU average, and so is the transport performance. The growth of transport in 1970-97, however, has been slower in Finland than in other EU-countries. Road traffic accounts for 66 % of goods transport and 80 % of passenger transport. The Finnish transport system is generally safer and more environmentally friendly than in other EU-countries.
• Road: Road transport is predominant mode of transport in Finland. The total length of roads in Finland is 450 000 kilometres. There are 78 000 kilometres of state owned public roads and 22 000 kilometres of streets owned by municipalities. The annual gross expenditure on public roads and municipal streets is 680 MEUR and 500 MEUR, respectively. The passenger transport on roads is expected to grow 2 % per year and goods transport 2-3 % per year. Regarding road fatalities per capita or per car, Finland is the sixth safest country in Europe.
• Rail: The total length of Finnish railway network is sufficient but the railway structure is not in optimal condition. The annual gross expenditure on railway maintenance and development is 306 MEUR and 74 MEUR, respectively. The estimated annual growth of long distance railway transport is 1-3 %. The safety of Finnish railway transport is on an average European level but improving. Emissions from railway traffic are very low and further decreasing.
• Waterway: The majority of Finnish import and export (ca. 80 %) is carried by sea. There are no feasible alternatives. Internationally, the share of domestic merchant fleet in goods transport to/from Finland is high. The total volume of goods transport by waterways is estimated to grow by 46 % between 1998 and 2000. Passenger traffic between Finland and Estonia increased from 0,6 million passengers to 5,8 million passengers between 1990 and 1998.

• Air: There are 21 state-owned airports with scheduled traffic in Finland. The airports are operated on a business-basis by Finnish Civil Aviation Administration. The main airport is Helsinki-Vantaa with 84 000 landings per year. In 1998, there were 13 million passengers in Finnish air traffic. The total amount of freight and mail carriage was 113 100 tonnes. Traffic volumes are increasing.