The cooperation between the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Fintraffic is one of the backbones of the Finnish transport system. The partnership ensures smooth, safe and efficient mobility on roads, rails and at sea while providing significant added value to Finnish society.
The Finnish transport system works thanks to the support of extraordinarily close cooperation. Fintraffic services support the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency in its basic task: ensuring safe traffic. Notifications, changing speed limits and tunnel systems guide drivers safely on roads while rail traffic control ensures safe rail traffic and infrastructure work. The Vessel Traffic Centre aids vessels in safe navigation and assists in critical need.
A shared situational picture is a crucial part of a safe and efficient transport system. The live situational picture and data produced by Fintraffic help with optimising transport infrastructure investments, maintenance and the use of transport infrastructure. High-quality data supports official operations, prevents disruptions and enables proactive decision-making for all modes of transport.
Roles and responsibilities
- The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency is responsible for the development, maintenance and implementation of the national-level services of the state-owned roads, railways and waterways. In other wors, it is responsible for physical infrastructure (e.g. the condition of railways and their platform infrastructure).
- Fintraffic is responsible for national traffic control and management on land, rail and at sea 24 hours a day. Its tasks include ensuring smooth traffic flows, disruptions management and data distribution.
Close cooperation by mode of transport
The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and Fintraffic cooperate particularly closely in rail transport. Fintraffic’s traffic management forms the fundamental operating environment for rail traffic.
“Cooperation in rail transport is essential because tracks do nothing by themselves. Finnish rail operations are made possible by Fintraffic’s rail traffic management. Our cooperation creates a platform for traffic operations,” says Director-General Esa Sirkiä from the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.
Organisations cooperate on large development projects such as the Digirail project, aimed at replacing the current train control system with a modern radio network-based train control system on the entire Finnish railway network by 2040.
In addition, cooperation forms shared knowledge for rail transport, for example, for the development of a digital twin. Up-to-date and uniform data on track infrastructure supports both investments and operations alike.
Road traffic control supports infrastructure management by producing data that maintenance contractors use in their decision-making. Traffic centre functions produce traffic data that covers the entire road network, This also plays an essential role in road maintenance and related decision-making.
In certain locations, such as tunnels, Fintraffic services are a legal requirement and essential for traffic. Cooperation ensures the reliability of renewed tunnel systems, such as those in the Vuosaari and Raisio tunnels.
For maritime transport, Fintraffic acts as a service provider, while the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency is responsible for overall maritime safety. The agencies cooperate closely in icebreaking, the maintenance of navigational aids and in joint activities with other authorities. The situational picture produced by the Vessel Traffic Centre and cooperation with the authorities offer significant savings for the Finnish society, prevent incidents and improve the efficiency of all authorities’ operations.
Added value for society – smooth travel chains and reduced future emissions
The cooperation ultimately leads to the smooth flow of traffic.
“Ideally, the cooperation between Fintraffic and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency will be completely unnoticed by the common road user or train passenger. Its impact manifests as smooth and safe traffic, ease of feedback and a uniform customer experience with a seamless experience between various operators,” Esa Sirkiä states.
Besides Finnish society, the climate benefits from the cooperation as well. As rail transport capacity and travel chains develop, passenger and cargo rail traffic will increase. Traffic management optimised for both maritime and road traffic, enhanced utilisation of data as well as digitalisation will reduce environmental risks, prevent accidents and reduce the costs of infrastructure maintenance.
Together, Fintraffic and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency are driving a smoother, safer and lower-emission traffic system.
