AINS Group and Proxion launch strategic partnership – partners aims to be the leading rail transport expert in Finland

The construction engineering and consulting company AINS Group and Proxion, an engineering and consulting company specialising in rail infrastructure, have signed an agreement on strategic partnership.

– Together, AINS Group and Proxion form a partner with broad expertise for infrastructure investments that boost Finland’s competitiveness and promote the achievement of its climate targets. To meet these targets, we need to adopt new approaches in the development of rail transport, explains Vesa Järvinen, Senior Vice President at AINS Group.

– The new railway projects that are about to kick off require multi-disciplinary expertise and seamless collaboration. We are also looking into new models for increasing the utilisation rate of railways with regard to both the transport of people and goods, says Mikko Saarinen, Business Director at Proxion.

The strategic partnership brings together Proxion’s strong knowledge of safety devices, the electrical field, rail infrastructure and rail transport and AINS Group’s multi-disciplinary expertise in geoengineering, street and road planning, tunnel and bridge engineering, and its experience of alliance projects. The partnership agreement was signed on 10 June 2019.

The goal of the design group is to become Finland’s leading rail transport expert.

Climate-friendly rail transport offers potential for development in Finland

Under Finland’s new government platform, several large-scale railway projects will be initiated. The plan is to build faster rail links between Helsinki and Turku, Tampere and regions in eastern Finland. In addition, there are plans to open up commuter transport to competition, which, if realised, will result in an opportunity to develop regional rail connections.

–  It is possible to create a tram-train transport model for Finland, in which the same fleet runs on tram lines in urban areas and on the intercity railway network. Transport models like this are already common elsewhere in Europe, says Saarinen.

Investigations into the possibility to build tram-train systems are underway in cities such as Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.

–  By adapting international funding and realisation models, we can achieve our climate targets and promote growth in several regions. Linking the Finnish railway system to the European network would improve the international competitiveness of the Finnish industrial sector, explains Järvinen.

Rail transport engineering and railway technology are areas of special expertise that are not taught at any academic institution.

– By joining forces, we can also ensure that we attract new experts to this field, adds Järvinen.

The engineering services offered by Proxion and AINS Group jointly cover all the areas of technological expertise required for rail infrastructure and engineering operations, from preliminary reports and projects estimates to construction engineering.

Further information:
Vesa Järvinen, Senior Vice President, Civil Engineering, AINS Group
Tel. +358 40 652 9898
vesa.jarvinen@ains.fi

Mikko Saarinen, Business Director, Proxion
Tel. +358 40 587 0499
mikko.saarinen@proxion.fi