Tamping Machine to Realign Tram Tracks in Härmälä and Kaupinlaakso

Expect noisy daytime work near Härmälä and Kaupinlaakso this weekend and early next week as crews use a ballast-tamping machine to align and compact tram rails.

Work will take place on Härmälä’s ballasted sections between Tuomikuja and Talvitie and between Tierankatu and Toivonkatu from Friday to Sunday, September 25–27. The machine will then move to Lääkärinkatu in Kaupinlaakso for Monday to Wednesday, September 28–30. Crews will work daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and nearby residents should expect noise. The Pirkkala–Linnainmaa alliance is managing the job.

The machine is programmed with location data that allows rails to be positioned to millimetre precision while compacting the surrounding ballast. After an initial pass, crews add ballast and measure rail positions. They then upload refined setpoints for a second pass that finalises the track geometry.

Work on the Nuolialantie and Lääkärinkatu sections is expected to be mostly finished this autumn, once welding and other finishing work is completed. This follows recent changes in the tram project, including the move onto the centre of Nuolialantie earlier this month the project's recent Nuolialantie shift, and builds on night-time installation work carried out earlier this summer the night-time installations in July.

Phase 2 will add ballasted track along Teiskontie toward Linnainmaa and on Naistenmatkantie toward Pirkkala. Other track types, such as fixed rails set into grass, planting, asphalt and paving, will be used elsewhere. Final traffic arrangements for the tramway are due in 2027. Passenger services between Kaupin campus and Ruotula stops, and between Sori Square and Partola, are scheduled to begin in August 2028.