Trams extending both ways in Tampere
posted on 18th May 2026 19:40
The Finnish city of Tampere continues to invest in its new tram network, which began operations on 8 August 2021. Given the ever-growing popularity of this mode of transportation, it was decided to expand not only the network itself but also the fleet of Škoda Smart Artic X34 trams.
The extra section
A total of 28 of these trams, delivered from the Otanmäki plant, are in service in Tampere. Škoda Transtech signed the first contract in 2017, which included 19 three-car Artic X34 trams. The contract also included three options for up to 46 additional vehicles. Deliveries took place in 2020 - 21. The twentieth tram, designated TR020, was built under an amendment to the aforementioned contract using originally ordered spare parts (i.e., it is not part of the option) and was delivered in 2021.
The first exercise of the options occurred with the signing of the contract on 25 May 2022, when Tampereen Raitiotie ordered another five ForCity Smart Artic X34 trams, with an order for three more trams of this type following later that same year. Deliveries of these eight vehicles took place in 2024–2025. Currently, the trams run at 6-minute intervals during peak hours, and the transit authority determined that further shortening of the interval would no longer be practical, so it proceeded to increase the trams’ passenger capacity.
On 25 September 2024, the Škoda Group and Tampereen Raitiotie Oy (Tampere Tramway Ltd) signed a contract to extend 11 ForCity Smart Artic X34 trams by one additional section. Their length will thus increase from 37 m to 47 m. This will allow the maximum passenger capacity to be increased from 264 to 345 passengers, i.e., by more than 30 %. The possibility of extending the Smart Artic X34 trams was already factored into the design, so this solution is possible without radical modifications to the rest of the vehicle. The new intermediate cars will have components compatible with the trams and will also be equipped with a single powered bogie, so the extended trams will retain their current driving characteristics (power output of 1,000 kW instead of 800 kW).
The tram network in Tampere is also already designed for 47-meter-long trams. The only modifications will need to be made at the Koskipuisto, Tulli and Hervantakeskus stops, that were built to accommodate only 37-meter-long vehicles due to space constraints and will be appropriately adapted by 2027.
At the end of January 2026, the structural work on the new section was completed, and it was subsequently moved to the final assembly line. The first extended tram is scheduled to be delivered to Tampere this summer, after which test runs will begin. Batch production of the additional sections will begin after the prototype testing is completed and approved. These ten modules are scheduled to be integrated into the tram fleet starting in the summer of 2027 and concluding in the summer of 2028.
About three months after the contract for the additional sections, Tampereen Raitiotie and the Škoda Group signed a new contract on 12 December 2024, for the delivery of an additional 7 ForCity Smart Artic X34 trams under the original option, this time specifically 47-meter-long four-section trams and one additional insert section.
The goal is to have 19 extended trams and 16 trams of the current length available in Tampere by the time the first sections of the new lines to Pirkkala and Linnainmaa open in the summer of 2028.
At the Hervanta depot, the Smart Depo system for automated tram movement is also being implemented. The project is currently operational in a pilot phase - the solution already enables fully unmanned tram movements within the controlled depot environment, with key functions handled onboard through a combination of LiDAR, cameras, odometry, positioning systems and an HD depot map, linked with depot infrastructure and a central Škoda Depot Control Centre. In practice, the autonomous pilot operation already covers typical depot scenarios such as parking, shunting, washing-line movements, positioning for inspection and vehicle handover at the start of service, while operators supervise missions, route reservations, and overall vehicle movements from the Depot Control Center interface. The benefit is not only safer and more efficient depot operation, but also better use of qualified staff, allowing them to spend less time on routine vehicle handling and more time on technical inspection, diagnostics, maintenance and other high-value, high-skill operational activities. This way, the Tampere pilot shows how automation and digitalization can help improve vehicle availability, safety and strengthen day-to-day depot performance.
More lines
In April 2023, the city councils of Tampere and Pirkkala decided to begin preparations for the construction of new tram sections - two branches extending from the existing network were proposed. One runs from the TAYS Central Hospital, starting at the current Kaupin Kampus stop, to the Linnainmaa regional center, and the other from the existing Sorin aukio (Sori Square) terminal through the Tampere neighborhoods of Hatanpää and Härmälä and on to the Pakkala, Haikka and Suuppa neighborhoods of the neighboring city of Pirkkala.
The City Council chose from three possible implementation options and ultimately selected the one in which both branches will be built simultaneously but in two phases. In the first phase, sections from Sori Square to the Partola stop and from the stop Kaupin kampus to Ruotula will be built, and in the second phase, the sections from Partola to Suuppa and from Ruotula to Linnainmaa district. Service on these first-phase sections is scheduled to begin in August 2028. Construction work is currently in full swing, with most of the tracks between Sori Square and Partola and between the Kauppi campus and Ruotula set to be completed this year.
The project also includes the expansion of the existing Hervanta depot in southeast Tampere and the conversion of the switches on Itsenäisyydenkatu Street to electrically controlled switches at the track junction near the main station (Tampereen Rautatieasema). The depot is being expanded from six to nine tracks; the concrete work has been completed, construction of the hall is at an advanced stage, and work on the interior installations is already underway. The depot expansion will be completed in the fall of 2027.
The second phase requires securing state funding first. Implementation is then planned for 2028–2032, when the plan is to build a section in the town of Pirkkala between the Partola and Suuppa and extend the second branch from the Ruotula stop to Linnainmaa. Service on the new sections is expected to begin in early 2032.
The total length of the route between Sorin Square and Pirkkalan Suupan is approximately 9,300 meters, with 11 stops planned. On the second branch, the total length of the route between the Kauppi Campus and Linnainmaa is approximately 4,250 meters, with four stops proposed. The locations of all stops were designed so that the catchment area, defined by a circle with a diameter of approximately 800 m, would include as many existing and future services, residents, and jobs as possible.
