Overview in Pasila

Pasila – Helsinki business and media hub

Pasila is the busiest public transportation intersection in the metropolitan area, and is also the most accessible place in Finland. It is an essential part of the developing metropolitan area.

At present, it is the centre of Finnish digital media and will develop into a significant business and media hub. In future, the construction of up to 40 stories high, mixed-use buildings will ensure Pasila’s visibility from different points all around the metropolitan area.

As the key area of future construction in Helsinki, Pasila is also the most interesting place for real estate investment in Finland. The expansion of The Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, together with Hartwall Areena – Finland’s biggest sport and events arena – increases Pasila’s significance as a central district in the metropolitan area.

Expanding business and housing

For a considerable period of time, Pasila has served as the main intersection of Finnish rail traffic, with all trains to and from Helsinki stopping at Pasila railway station. In the future, the new Central Pasila area will unite East and West Pasila, forming a lively centre providing housing, offices and great number of diverse services.

Currently housing some 8,600 residents and over 25,000 jobs, Pasila will experience construction continuing until the 2040s when its population is forecast to grow to 20,000 people. By then, there will be new premises constituting together more than one million square meters of floor space, with Pasila providing work for over 50,000 people.

Pasila is also a quarter of leisure activities, with events held at Hartwall Areena and The Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, together with shops, restaurants, hotels, theatres and numerous services attracting visitors from near and far.

Pasila is the public transportation intersection in the Metropolitan Area. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Pasila is the center of the Finnish digital media. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Up to 40-floor mixed-use buildings will be build in the future. Picture City Planning Department

Helsinki Exhibition Centre. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Construction

150 hectares of floor space are planned for homes and business premises, with the expansion of four new precincts within the area. These areas are Central and Northern Pasila, Ilmala and Konepaja. Construction will continue between 2007-2040.

The central location and smooth traffic arrangements of Pasila, and its role as Finland’s business and media hub, make an attractive investment. New construction plans emphasise Pasila’s significance as an independent business centre.

Pasila’s centralised location will gain even greater significance in the future, with the construction of a railway line that loops from Pasila railway station to the most central parts of Helsinki, and back again.

In the future, a metro line will reduce travelling time into the city centre and around the metropolitan area. There are also plans for a train/metro link to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Timetable

2010 onwards

Design&Build competition of Pasila Central Block.
Pasila high-rise area design manual will be published.
Streets and municipal engineering planned.
Plans for widening the Pasila Bridge commenced.
Construction of Ilmala and Konepaja areas continues.
Northern Pasila’s first city plan confirmed.
Former harbour tracks removed.
Express trains moved to Northern Pasila by April 1, 2012.
General plan for loop railroad line completed in autumn 2010.

By 2040
Pasila area:

1.1 million m2 of business premises.
450,000m2 of housing and apartments.
Population doubles.
Number of jobs multiplies.
Extension of The Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre is completed by 2025.
Several rail connections: Metro Töölö-Pasila (2020), loop railway line (2030), airport connection and Baltic Rail.

150 hectares of floor space are planned for homes and business premises. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Railwaymen lived in Toralinna building (built 1899). Picture Kimmo Brandt

Design&Build competition of Pasila Central Block starts 2010.

Idyllic view in Western Pasila. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Transport

Helsinki aims to strongly develop public transport in Pasila, with future solutions to support more environmentally friendly urban development. The railway station here plays a crucially important role for commuters, as all local and long-distance trains stop at Pasila.

Numerous national and international companies, as well as government agencies, are located in Pasila, with many people coming to work in Pasila also residing outside of the Helsinki metropolitan area. With a variety of events organised at The Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre already attracting people to the precinct, the future commercial centre of shops and services will bring lively activity to the area also in the evenings and weekends.

Tramlines operate in the area, with commuters enjoying straightforward transfers that will improve in future as the tram network is extended northward through Pasila. In addition, cycling and walking in Pasila will become even more pleasant, building upon the number of areal cycling routes that currently pass through the area.

Due to the growing number of inhabitants and jobs, new parking facilities will also be required and will be constructed underground.

Tram lines operate in the area and transfers are easy. Picture Kimmo Brandt

All of the local and long-distance trains stop at the Pasila station. Picture Kimmo Brandt

Metro line to Pasila

Currently, the Helsinki metro runs from east to west through the city centre. In future the metro service will extend to new regions, with a metro line passing through Central Pasila, offering greater accessibility through smooth transfers.

The construction of Central Pasila will proceed before that of the metro line. However, the future metro line and station will be included in the planning and construction of Central Pasila.

City centre railway line to prevent congestion

Future public transport in Pasila include a proposed loop railway line that runs through in a tunnel underneath the city centre, connecting the northbound main line and the westbound coastal line. There are presently two alternative plans for the loop line. Stations will be established in central locations.

Easing congestion at Helsinki Central Station, the railway loop will also free-up capacity for long-distance trains. In the city centre, travelling by train will enjoy greater convenience, with shorter walking distances and improved transfer connections. The general plan of the loop line will be completed in 2011.

A fast connection to the airport and to Europe

A railway line connecting Pasila with Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is in the planning stage. Conveniently linking with railway lines leading to the other regions of Finland, this would ease the convenience of transferring between airplanes and long distance trains. Extending the metro line from Pasila to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport has yet to be ruled out.

Furthermore, Pasila presently enjoys rail connections to both St. Petersburg and to Moscow.

Baltic Rail

Future visions for Pasila also include Baltic Rail: a railway tunnel linking Pasila with Tallinn, Estonia, on the other side of the Gulf of Finland. Aside from the Baltic countries, this tunnel would also connect Finnish railways to Central Europe.
In the first phase, the rail connection between Helsinki and Tallinn could incorporate a train ferry from the new residential area Jätkäsaari.

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