Finland Times

 

File picture of Arctic track the project manager Jorma Pietiläinen (left) and Northern Lapland Development Manager Timo at the project site in Sodankylä. Photo Lehtikuva.

A video campaign highlighting the possibilities and prospects of the Arctic Railway track was released Saturday to drum up approval for the Rovaniemi (Finland) to Kirkkoniemi (Norway) rail route.

 

The proposed project, to be built at Sattanen in Sodankylä, focused on the huge possibilities for cargo transportation on the route.

 

The project managers hoped that the government and the funding authorities might be interested in a politically stable transport from the Arctic to the EU, in particular, after the launching of a rail route between Helsinki and Tallinn. The authority initially planned for a tunnel for this route.

 

At the same time, the EU Commission has agreed to largely finance for a track between Poland to Tallinn. 

 

On the other side, there is an alternative project called Sokli, planned to open up the route to the Arctic Ocean, although the rail route would connect only with the Easter border. The Sokil project would go to the Russian boarder, not inside.

 

Arguing in favour of the Arctic Railway project, the video showed that the project would need only a few dozen miles of rail track to connect from Salla, to Russia Alakurtti and from there to Murmansk.

 

There are also some other project plans for rail connectivity, said project sources, adding that the government would decide which one would be suitable to approve.