Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki railway
{{Short description|Railway line in Finland}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width =
| name = Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki railway
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| image = File:IC922 passes Rauhalahti.jpg
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| caption = An InterCity train crossing the Rauhalahti bridge
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| status = Open
| locale = Central Finland
South Savo
| start = Jyväskylä
| end = Pieksämäki
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| open = 1918
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| owner = Finnish government
| operator = VR Group
| linelength_km = 80
| tracks = 1
| gauge = {{Track gauge|1524mm|lk=on}}
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| electrification = 25 kV @ 50 Hz
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The Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki railway ({{langx|fi|Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki-rata}}, {{langx|sv|Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki-banan}}) is a 1,524 mm (5 ft) railway in Finland, running between the Jyväskylä and Pieksämäki stations.{{cite book |last=Iltanen |first=Jussi |title=Radan varrella: Suomen rautatieliikennepaikat |language=fi |isbn=978-951-593-214-3 |publisher=Karttakeskus |year=2010}}{{cite book |author= |title=Railway Network Statement 2022 |url=https://julkaisut.vayla.fi/pdf12/vj_2020-52eng_vs2022_web.pdf |location= |publisher=Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency |page= |date=30 June 2021 |isbn=978-952-317-812-0 |access-date=21 August 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031034555/https://julkaisut.vayla.fi/pdf12/vj_2020-52eng_vs2022_web.pdf |url-status=dead }}
History
File:Jyväskylä-Pieksämäki railway under construction.jpg
The decision to build the line was made in 1912, and the most difficult and expensive of the route options was chosen. The decision was influenced by the experience gained from the construction of the curved and hilly Haapamäki–Jyväskylä railway, which proved inadequate for the growing train traffic. The line became straightforward - plans to bypass Leppälahti and Pönttövuori were abandoned. In turn, the population centers of Hankasalmi and Kankainen were bypassed, which eventually led to the creation of the station villages of Hankasalmi, Sauvamäki and Venetmäki. The main challenges of the construction process were at the western end of the line - namely, the cliffs between Vaajakoski and Leppälahti, the long lake embankments and the tunnel through the Pönttövuori.{{Cite web|title=Radan tarina|url=http://www.isovaalee.info/radantarina.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127001525/http://www.isovaalee.info/radantarina.html|archive-date=27 January 2012|access-date=21 August 2021|website=isovaalee.info|language=fi}}
The Jyväskylä-Pieksämäki line was the last part of the railway line from St. Petersburg to Vaasa via inland Finland, which the Russian government considered particularly important for strategic reasons. The old Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway was so close to the coast of the Gulf of Finland that it was feared that it might be captured by the enemy in the event of war. When newly completed, the line was indeed of considerable strategic importance, not to the Russians but to the Whites of the Finnish Civil War: the Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg line was in Red territory, while this new line was entirely White-controlled, linking the old north-south lines. The railway was completed a few days before the start of the Civil War.{{Cite book|last=Alameri|first=Mikko|title=Suomen rautatiet|publisher=Slezak|year=1979|isbn=3-900134-52-9|location=Vienna|pages=15}}
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Gallery
Vaajakosken rautatieasema 2.jpg|Vaajakoski rail yard
Haapakoski railway bridge4.jpg|The current Haapakoski bridge, crossing river Vaajanvirta
Haapakoski old bridge from air pre-1959.jpg|The old Haapakoski bridge
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Jyväskylä–Pieksämäki railway}}
{{Railway lines in Finland}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jyvaskyla-Pieksamaki railway}}
Category:Railway lines in Finland