Villähde railway station

The Villähde railway station (Finnish: Villähteen rautatieasema, Swedish: Villähde järnvägsstation) is located in the city of Lahti (formerly the municipality of Nastola), Finland, in the district of Villähde. It is located along the Lahti–Kouvola line, and its neighboring stations are Lahti in the west and Nastola in the east.

Villähde
VR station
Location	Lastaustie 7, 15540 Nastola Finland
Coordinates	60°56.796′N 025°49.489′E
Owned by	Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
Operated by	VR Group
Line(s)	Lahti–Kouvola railway
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Other information
Station code	Vlh
History
Opened	17 September 2009
Passengers
2016	5,000 [1]
Services
Preceding station VR Group Following station Lahti Terminus Lahti–Kouvola Nastola towards Kouvola Preceding station Helsinki commuter rail Following station Lahti towards Helsinki Z Nastola towards Kouvola
Location
Viilähde Location within Päijät-Häme

History

1st station

The station of Villähde was originally opened in the year 1888 to serve the western areas of the parish of Nastola, by the initiative of the locals. The Class V station building was completed in the same year, and its location was seen as optimal to serve Erstan Manor. After the second World War, a car chassis factory as well as a furniture workshop were founded in Villähde. However, upon the foundation of the Lankila and Haravakylä halts (in 1940 and 1945, respectively), the number of passengers at Villähde began to dwindle due to the locations of the halts better serving the population centers in the region.

Despite the urban area of Villähde reaching a total population of 1,300 residents by 1970, the station was closed from passengers in the same year and was made unmanned in 1971. Its railyard was disassembled in 1995, and therefore the first operating point of Villähde was officially abolished.

2nd station

Villähde was reopened in 2009 as a crossover point. After the passenger services of the Nastola area were transferred from Uusikylä to the new Nastola halt in the centre of the municipality in 2005, the municipal council and its residents started once again an initiative to build a station in Villähde.[2] Both stations were subsequently rebuilt and reopened in 2010, which made Nastola home to a total of three active railway stations.[3]

Services

Villähde is served by all commuter trains on the route Lahti–Kouvola, and some of these services are operated from or continue towards Kotka as well. The intermediate stations between Lahti and Kouvola are also served by all but one Z rush hour service on the route Helsinki–Lahti–Kouvola. Eastbound trains towards Kouvola stop at track 1 and westbound ones towards Lahti use track 2.

References

1. Kamppila, Pirjo (December 11, 2017). "Edellinen avaus Villähteellä, seuraavana jonossa Hennala". Etelä-Suomen Sanomat (in Finnish). p. A5.
2. Iltanen, Jussi. Radan varrella: Suomen rautatieliikennepaikat (in Finnish). ISBN 978-951-593-214-3.
3. Veirto, Tuija (November 15, 2011). "Nastolassa junapysäkkejä melkein kuin Vantaalla" (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved September 14, 2020.