Why does work on the tracks need to be carried out at night?

Once completed, Jokeri Light Rail will primarily follow the same route as the current trunk bus route 550. During peak hours, many of the construction sites have as many as over 60 buses per hour driving past them. Track construction materials, such as the rails, are delivered to the construction sites using large semi-trailers, which are approximately 23–25 metres in length, in addition to which lifting the materials requires a crane truck.

To ensure smooth traffic flow, it is sensible and essential to close off lanes and shut down traffic lights for the duration of material transportation. To ensure that traffic is not disrupted, these types of tasks must be carried out at night. Furthermore, the laying of the tracks and related concrete work also require a great deal of space, necessitating special arrangements.

Welding the tracks requires low temperatures, due to which welding needs to be carried out at night as the outdoor temperature rises. Track laying is precision work and the permitted deviations regarding the location of the tracks are very small. Because of this, the work must be completed in one go, so that the tracks do not end up moving before welding.

The installation of the overhead cables, which is carried out in the late stages of track construction, does not generate much noise, but requires a great deal of space. Because of this, installation is also carried out at night.

One of the basic principles of the Jokeri Light Rail project is that work is carried out at night only when there is no other option, and planned accordingly. In other words, work is carried out at night only when absolutely necessary. We always notify local residents in advance of any work to be carried out at night.

The noise pollution generated during track laying and installation is reduced using Echo Barrier acoustic barriers, which dampen noise propagation by approximately 10 decibels. The acoustic barriers are used during the sawing of the rails, which is the most noisy part of the work, but only lasts for a few minutes at a time.