Valimo railway station

Valimo railway station (Finnish: Valimon rautatieasema, Swedish: Gjuteriets järnvägsstation) is a station on the Helsinki commuter rail network located in the western part of Helsinki, Finland, between Huopalahti and Pitäjanmäki stations. It is located about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the northwest/west of Helsinki Central railway station, in the core of the industrial area of the district of Pitäjänmäki.

Valimo Gjuteriet
VR station
Location	Valimopolku 3, 00380 Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki
Coordinates	60°13′20″N 024°52′34″E
Owned by	Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
Line(s)	Helsinki–Turku railway
Platforms	Island platform
Tracks	2 with platforms 4 in total
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	Vmo
Fare zone	B
Classification	Halt [1]
History
Opened	1 December 1949 (as Strömberg) 30 May 1976 (as Valimo)
Rebuilt	2000
Previous names	Strömberg (1 December 1949–30 May 1976)
Passengers
2016	2,133 daily[2]
Services
Preceding station Helsinki commuter rail Following station Huopalahti towards Helsinki A Pitäjänmäki towards Leppävaara L Pitäjänmäki towards Kirkkonummi
Location
Valimo Location within Helsinki (mainland) Valimo Valimo (Finland)

History

As Strömberg

The first iteration of the station was opened on 1 December 1949 under the name Strömberg. It was built exclusively to serve the workers of the Strömberg factory in the district of Pitäjänmäki; trains would only stop during times corresponding to the opening and closing times of work shifts at the facilities, and the only pathway to the halt was through the private area of the factory yards. As the Huutoniemi halt on the Seinäjoki–Vaasa railway was also called Strömberg at the time, fulfilling a similar purpose in Vaasa, it was first renamed Huutomäki on the day of the opening of the halt in Pitäjänmäki. Coinciding with parts of the rantarata being expanded to double track, Strömberg received another wooden side platform in 1958.[3]

As Valimo

The Strömberg halt was closed on 30 May 1976 and was replaced by the contemporary station of Valimo, some 300 metres (0.19 mi) to the east from the old platforms towards Helsinki. Unlike Strömberg, however, Valimo was intended to serve the entire industrial area in Pitäjänmäki. During the construction of the Leppävaara City Line, an additional pair of tracks from Helsinki to Leppävaara exclusively to be used by trains on the Helsinki commuter rail network, temporary platforms were built in Valimo in 1995. The wholly renovated station was inaugurated on 16 October 2000. By that time, the area served by the station had over 9,000 jobs.

In 2000, the ABB Group group proposed that the Valimo halt be once again renamed Strömberg (Swedish: Strömbergs); the proposal was also backed by the city council of Helsinki. The plan was not accepted by the Railway Administration, however.[3]

Services

Valimo is served by lines A and L on the Helsinki commuter rail network. Eastbound trains towards Helsinki use track 3 and westbound trains towards Leppävaara and Kirkkonummi use track 4.

External links

Media related to Valimo railway station at Wikimedia Commons

References

1. Railway Network Statement 2021 (PDF). Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. 18 June 2020. p. 93. ISBN 978-952-317-744-4. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
2. "HSL:n nousijamäärät" (in Finnish). Helsinki Regional Transport Authority. 2016. (under "Valimon asema")
3. Nummelin, Markku (2008). Rantarata (in Finnish). Kustantaja Laaksonen. p. 21. ISBN 978-952-99685-8-9.