The goal of the project was to construct the railway in the Värtsilä municipality’s industrial area mainly for the needs of freight forwarding in order to secure unhindered operation and development of the constantly increasing freight traffi c between Finland and Russia in Niirala. Th e construction of the railway from Russia to Finland was a logistic necessity for Finnish wood refi neries and forwarders that import raw timber, as the current railway was unable to suffi ciently serve the transport and storage needs of the companies.