The Impacts of the Tampere Tramway Project

Abstract

Light Rail transport within the city has become an interesting form of public transport in many cities in Europe as well as in other parts of the world. According to the experience of the reference cities, light rail or tramway is primarily an urban development project, not only a public transport project. This case study focuses on the indirect impacts of a tramway project. Do they really happen or is their valuation just a means to achieve political will. The city of Tampere is one of a few growing cities in Finland. The growth of the city caused congestion in the city centre, where the bus lines either ended or whose pendulum lines passed. Project planning for the Tampere tramway started in the early 2000s, construction began in 2017, traffic on the first lines started in 2021. In the tramway, the decisions are based on future expectations. In our research, we assess how well these expectations have been realised in the Tampere tramway project by means of a literature survey and statistical comparisons. The developments to be considered are the direct and indirect investments in the construction of the tramway, the demographic changes, and the housing markets. The evaluation material consists of official regional statistics. According to evaluation, the land use of Tampere has become more efficient than expected in the area affected by the tramway. Not only on empty plots, but also old low commercial buildings have been replaced by high new residential buildings. The tramway has supported urban development by attracting investors to build on previously for abandoned plots. The main street of Tampere is dedicated to the tram, a limited number of buses and light traffic, so congestion has been reduced.