Turenki railway station

The Turenki railway station (Finnish: Turengin rautatieasema, Swedish: Turenki järnvägsstation, formerly Turengi) is located in the municipality of Janakkala, Finland, in the urban area and municipal seat of Turenki. It is located along the Riihimäki–Tampere railway, and its neighboring stations are Hämeenlinna in the north and Ryttylä in the south.

Turenki
VR station
General information
Location	Kuumolantie 3, 14200 Turenki, Janakkala Finland
Coordinates	60°55′05″N 024°38′18″E
Owned by	Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
Operated by	VR Group
Line(s)	Riihimäki–Tampere railway
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2 (with platforms) 3 (in total)
Construction
Architect	Carl Albert Edelfelt
Other information
Station code	Tu
Classification	Operating point[1]
History
Opened	17 March 1862 (1862-03-17)
Previous names	Turenki/Turengi (until May 1897)[2]
Passengers
2008	59,000 [3]
Services
Preceding station VR commuter rail Following station Ryttylä towards Helsinki R Hämeenlinna towards Tampere D
Location Turenki Location within Kanta-Häme Show map of Kanta-Häme Turenki Turenki (Finland) Show map of Finland

The Finnish Heritage Agency has classified Turenki railway station as a nationally significant built cultural environment.^[4][5]

History

Turenki railway station was one of the first railway stations in Finland established on the country's first railway line in 1862. Originally Leppäkoski was considered as the place for a railway station, but in the end the station was established at Turenki and was one of the candidates to become the western terminus of the railway line to St. Petersburg^[4] (which was eventually built starting from Riihimäki station instead).

Being one of the candidates to become a junction station for the St. Petersburg railway line, the station building for Turenki station was originally supposed to built out of bricks. Due to financial issues, the station building was eventually built out of wood instead. The station building designed by architect Carl Albert Edelfelt was completed in 1862.^[4] The original platform shelter on platform track 1 exists to this day and was renovated in 1999.^[5]

Turenki started to develop into an industrial centre, when a sugar factory was founded in the village in 1940. The population also started to grow by the latter half of the 20th century, surpassing 7 000 in 2000.^[4] Turenki railway station has been unstaffed since 1995.^[4]

Turenki rail accident

Main article: Turenki rail accident

The worst rail accident in Finnish history thus far^[6][7][8] happened near the Turenki station on March 12, 1940, when a troop train headed to Viipuri collided with a northbound freight train due to a signalling error leading up to 39 lives lost and 69 injured.

Services and departure tracks

Main article: Helsinki commuter rail § Main/Riihimäki Line

Turenki served by VR commuter rail lines R and D on the route Helsinki–Riihimäki–Hämeenlinna–Tampere. Southbound trains toward Riihimäki and Helsinki use track 1, while northbound trains toward Hämeenlinna and Tampere use track 3.^[9] Track 2 has no platform and is only used by long-distance trains that pass through the station.

References

1. Railway Network Statement 2021 (PDF). Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. 18 June 2020. p. 101. ISBN 978-952-317-744-4.
2. Iltanen, Jussi (2009). Radan varrella: Suomen rautatieliikennepaikat (in Finnish). ISBN 978-951-593-214-3.
3. Henkilöliikennepaikkojen kehittämisohjelma (PDF). Helsinki: Finnish Infrastructure Transport Agency. 2010. ISBN 978-952-255-511-3.
4. Iltanen, Jussi (2009). Radan varrella (in Finnish). Karttakeskus. p. 69. ISBN 978-951-593-214-3.
5. Turengin rautatieasema (in Finnish) Nationally significant built cultural environments (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävät rakennetut kulttuuriympäristöt) RKY, Finnish Heritage Agency. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
6. Leponiemi, Timo (3 March 2021). "15 evakkolasta kuoli, ja kuljettajasta jäi jäljelle vain rintaan palanut taskukello – sotasensuuri salasi Suomen tuhoisimmat junaturmat". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 2025-02-07.
7. Heino, Mikko (12 March 2016). "Kovan onnen rataosuus". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma. p. 40. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
8. Koski, Sami (19 August 2021). "Kohtalokkaat torkut". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Alma Media. Retrieved 2025-02-07.
9. Turenki - Train Departures - Fintraffic, junalahdot.fi. Retrieved 2025-01-27.