>>1039955>Turku system has been on city council table but nothing has decided.I really hope Turku keeps this on its agenda long enough to see how the other big tram projects are coming up. By other projects I mean Tampere system and Jokeri "quick tramway", Laajasalo tramway and bridge construction will start a bit later I think.
>In general the system will be technically same as the new Tampere light rail because some cooperation contract. I have understood there has been nothing of this sort in planning. They started by doing the feasibility studies in unison but bit by bit Turku has lagged behind.
They also have had some plans on rolling stock joint purchases, but even this wouldn't necessarily lock the cities into full system compatibility, the cities could end up using different gauges for example.
By this I mean the issue on gauges has been a heated topic. The study was conducted even for "Jokeri", and it ended up recommending metre gauge with flying colors for future compatibility with existing Helsinki system, even though Jokeri will use bidirectional stock.
In Tampere the studies recommended standard gauge, so that was what they picked, but the moans for broad gauge were quite loud, maybe because in the original plans the Tampere tram was envisioned as a kind of Karlsruhe-like system that would have partially used railroads, but apparently the existing rails are out of capacity and it would be cheaper for the city to build a tramway tracks alongside the railway rather than start the heavy system that is needed to build more railways.
I Turku, the situation is more open. Even metre gauge is a distant possibility, for the city once had a metre gauge tramway, but in Turku the railways have plenty of capacity, so a possibility for railway integration and treating a dual standard trams as a kind budget of local train substitute may be too juicy to miss. (Only Helsinki currently has proper local trains due reasons.)
