Kotka Port railway station
{{short description|Railway station in Kotka, Finland}}{{For|the actual seaport in Kotka, Finland|Port of Hamina-Kotka}}{{Infobox station
| name = Kotka Port
Kotkan satama
Kotka hamn
| symbol_location =
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| type = VR station
| style = VR Group
| image = Kotkan sataman seisake.JPG
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| address = Satamakatu 9
| borough = 48100 Kotka
| country = Finland
| coordinates = {{coord|60|28|05|N|026|56|22|E|region:FI-09_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title}}
| owned = Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
| operator = VR Group
| line = Kouvola–Kotka
| distance =
| platforms = 1 side platform
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| code = Kts
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| classification = Part of split operating point (Kotka){{cite book |title=Railway Network Statement 2021 |url=https://julkaisut.vayla.fi/pdf12/vj_2019-46eng_vs2021_web.pdf |publisher=Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency |date=18 June 2020 |isbn=978-952-317-744-4 |access-date=30 September 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001183729/https://julkaisut.vayla.fi/pdf12/vj_2019-46eng_vs2021_web.pdf |url-status=dead }}
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| opened = {{Start date|1998|5|31|df=y}}
| electrified =
| closed =
| former =
| pass_year = 2008
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| services = {{Adjacent stations
|system=VR commuter rail
|line1=O|left1=Kotka|right1=
}}
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| mapframe = y
| mapframe-zoom = 13
}}
The Kotka Port railway station{{Cite web |title=Kotka port railway station - VR |url=https://www.vr.fi/en/railway-stations-and-routes/kotka-port |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.vr.fi |language=en}} ({{langx|fi|Kotkan sataman rautatieasema}}, {{langx|sv|Kotka hamns järnvägsstation}}) is located in the town of Kotka, Finland, right by its namesake, the Kotka ferry terminal.
Kotka Port is followed by Kotka station, located around {{convert|800|m|mi}} to the west.{{Cite web |title=Railway stations and routes |url=https://www.vr.fi/en/railway-stations-and-routes |access-date=3 October 2020 |website=VR Group}} Despite such naming, Kotka Port is somewhat nearer to the actual center of Kotka, also being the initial reason for the station's inception. Furthermore, its location makes it possible for passengers to transfer to and from Baltic Sea ferries.
Kotka Port is the origin of VR commuter rail line {{ric|VR commuter rail|O}} and the southern terminus of the Kotka Line from Kouvola.{{cite book |last=Iltanen |first=Jussi |title=Radan varrella: Suomen rautatieliikennepaikat |year=2009 |language=fi |isbn=978-951-593-214-3}}
History
A railway stop called Satamakatu – in use from 1932 to 1938 and situated about {{convert|200|m|ft}} further east – can be considered an early predecessor of the modern Kotka Port station. A footpath leading across the tracks is the only remaining feature of the former halt.
The current station originated as an summertime experiment in the early 1990s to take passengers closer to the centre of events during the annual Kotka Maritime Festival. It became a permanent full-time station in 1998 and has since functioned as the southern terminus of regional trains to and from Kouvola and Lahti.{{Cite web|title=SATAMASTA KOTKAN HENKILÖJUNIEN PÄÄTEPYSÄKKI, Itä-Suomeen ei suuria muutoksia aikataulukauden vaihtuessa|url=http://www.vr.fi/uutta.htm#vrlink2|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980613184415/http://www.vr.fi/uutta.htm#vrlink2|archive-date=13 June 1998|website=VR Group|language=fi}} In 2022, regional trains serving the Kotka Line were integrated into VR commuter rail, receiving the line designation {{ric|VR commuter rail|O}}.
The official English name of the station used to be Kotka Harbour.
= Future plans =
There are plans for multiple major public investment projects in and around the Port of Kotka – for example, a new campus by Xamk, the Southeastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, will be completed in 2024, less than {{convert|500|m|yd}} away from the station.
In a 2020 study by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency regarding the future of the Kotka Line and the Hamina Line, it was stated that the possibility of service increases might justify the addition of another platform track at the station.{{Cite book |last1=Lonka |first1=Tuomas |url=https://julkaisut.vayla.fi/pdf12/vj_2020-36_kouvola-kotka-hamina_web.pdf |title=(Kouvola)–Kotka/Hamina liikenteellinen tarveselvitys |last2=Nyby |first2=Marko |last3=Riikonen |first3=Juha |publisher=Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency |year=2020 |isbn=978-952-317-790-1 |location=Helsinki |pages=32 |language=fi}}
Services
{{ric|VR commuter rail|O}} Stopping train to Kouvola / on certain departures to Lahti
External links
- {{commonscat-inline|Kotka port railway station|Kotka Port station}}
- [https://www.junat.net/en/kotkan-satama Departures and arrivals at Kotka Port station] on Junat.net