The Municipal Board of Pirkkala will discuss the implementation planning at its meeting on 17 April 2023. The Tampere City Council's decision is conditional. The objective of the forthcoming negotiations on the new MAL agreement will be to involve the state in the planning and actual construction of the project. Construction requires receiving central government transfers to the project. The construction decision can be made possibly in Tampere and Pirkkala councils in October 2024.
The Pirkkala-Linnainmaa project plan for the tramway is a technical plan that includes a comprehensive impact assessment and project evaluation with cost-benefit calculations. In the project plan, it is estimated that in the tramway option, there will be a total of 55,000 inhabitants and 23,200 jobs in the 800-metre accessibility area of the tram stops of the new tramway sections from Suuppa to bus station and from the Kauppi campus to Linnainmaa.
There are two tramway development options in the project plan. In option 1, the tramway will be implemented by 2030 for the section between Pirkkala’s municipal centre in Suuppa and Linnainmaa. Option 2 includes the gradual implementation of a tramway in Pirkkala. In option 2, the first stage terminus of Pirkkala is Partola, and by 2035 the municipal centre Suuppa.
The project plan has been drawn up with the accuracy of the preliminary street plan drafts. The planning has been carried out in interaction with municipal residents and stakeholders. The preliminary street plan drafts made in the project plan have been processed in the urban planning boards of Tampere and Pirkkala. During the planning period, public events have been organised, opportunities to comment on the plans via online map feedback surveys, and a round of opinions was organised for key stakeholders during the plan's draft phase.
According to a decision made by the City Board, solutions for ensuring the smooth running of passenger car traffic on Mäentakusenkatu and at the same time ensuring the functioning of the public transport terminal will be studied in the implementation phase of the Linnainmaa public transport terminal.
The City Board also authorised Tampere Raitiotie Oy to start a new alliance for tramway infrastructure immediately as a conditional tendering competition, as the implementation planning schedule is tight.
The objective is that the Councils of Tampere and Pirkkala can discuss the implementation plan in their meetings on 24 April. If a positive decision is made on construction in the councils in October 2024, construction could start in early 2025. It is estimated that the construction phase will last from 2025 to 2028, when traffic could start on new sections in January 2029.
