Fire near Riihimäki railway station causes train delays
Rail services at the railway junction town of Riihimäki began to return to normal late on Monday evening after a large fire which broke out at the construction site of a new transport terminal.
The blaze occurred next to the Riihimäki railway station. All train traffic through Riihimäki was cut off for about three hours. Still at about ten in the evening, the railway company VR warned that further delays woulld be possible.
Some of the tracks were still out of service in the evening, said Timo Hämäläinen, a top official at the Finnish Rail Administration (RHK). He added that there was no structural damage to the track.
The travel plans of thousands of people were affected. Thick, noxious smoke was also spread around the area. There were no injuries or deaths.
The fire alarm came from the construction site of the travel centre at 3:43 PM. Black smoke was billowing from the fire as late as 5:30 in the evening.
In the early stages the smoke had been even thicker, and explosions were heard from inside the black cloud.
The explosions were caused by tanks of gas at the site. Firefighter Heikki Harri says that there were between five and seven of them.
The hazard posed by the exploding tanks slowed the work of the firefighters, delaying the moment at which they could enter the burning building.
The thick smoke came from styrofoam and bituminous felt at the construction site.
"It can cause headache, breathing difficulties, and coughing", explained Riihimäki Fire Chief Mika Kivipato. He said that there were up to about 500 people in the area affected by the smoke. They were urged by radio to stay indoors and to keep their windows closed.
Trains were not allowed past the site of the fire for several hours. Passengers were taken past the area in buses.
The availability of information was encumbered by the fact that VR's telephone service, which is located at Riihimäki Station, was evacuated at one point because of the fire.
Conductor Marita Friberg was busy explaining to passengers on the platform at Helsinki Railway Station that the Intercity train to Tampere would leave as scheduled at 5:06 PM, but would probably be delayed along the way.
Few passengers knew then what had happened.
"We can't do anything about fires. Safety first", Friberg said to the confused people.
Resigned to their fates, Camilla Kallonen and the other passengers stepped on board. Kallonen was somewhat upset that the delay was stretching her work day to be longer than usual.
"I come to work here from Lempäälä. It will certainly be very late before I am home today", the Nordea Bank employee said.
The fire is suspected to have been sparked by a gas heater which fell down on top of styrofoam, says Hannu Lokka of the YIT construction company. The fire started from a parking platform that was under construction.
The travel centre is meant to house bus and train terminals as well as business and parking space. Lokka believes that the fire will delay the completion by several months past the scheduled November opening.
Riihimäki's significance as a key railway junction declined somewhat when a new rail link was opened from Kerava to Lahti in 2006. Since then, trains operating between Helsinki and the Eastern Finland have no longer passed through Riihimäki.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 6.5.2008 - TODAY |
 Fire near Riihimäki railway station causes train delays |
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