One-hour train between Helsinki and Turku brings growth
The planned construction of the one-hour train connection between Turku and Helsinki could bring as much as 80 million euros of total gains, says Hannu Piekkola, Professor of Economics at the University of Vaasa.
Piekkola analysed the economic returns of the one-hour train for the Turku Chamber of Commerce. Halving the time distance into one-hour in Helsinki-Turku railway corridor increases commuting by 40 percent.
According to his research the new train connection would yield annual returns of 30 million euros in time savings and costs of travel. New intangible and human capital would bring even more returns.
– 40–50 million euros annually. One third of the gains are from new human capital and two-thirds from new intangible capital. These are on mainly explained by new jobs in Helsinki metropolitan area.
The infrastructure investment costs of one-hour train are approximately 1.5 billion euros, so it would take 20 years before the returns would exceed the costs.
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