The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland (Korkein hallinto-oikeus – KHO) has definitively settled a major legal dispute concerning the procurement of trams for the Helsinki–Vantaa metropolitan area, one of Finland’s busiest urban transit regions.
The decision follows a series of appeals filed by Škoda Transtech, which sought to challenge its exclusion from the procurement process organized by the transport operator in the Finnish capital region. The contract had previously been awarded to Stadler Polska for the delivery of new trams intended for the expansion and modernization of the network.
In November 2025, the Helsinki-area transit authority selected Stadler’s bid to supply new trams under a contract that includes both the delivery of trams and a long-term maintenance agreement.
Škoda Transtech’s bid was excluded from the procedure, and subsequently the company challenged the decision before the Finnish Court of Economic Disputes. In March 2026, the court confirmed that the exclusion was lawful, ruling that the bid did not fully comply with the mandatory requirements of the tender specifications.
Supreme Court Finalizes the Case
In the final stage, Škoda Transtech sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, but this was denied on June 2, 2026.
With this decision, the lower court’s ruling stands as final, and the award of the contract to Stadler Polska is confirmed with no further avenues for appeal.
Recently, Škoda Transtech challenged the contract award, arguing that its bid was not properly evaluated with regard to the technical criteria. At the same time, the company argued that the contracting authority is dependent on the approval of the municipal councils of Helsinki and Vantaa to increase the budget allocated for the procurement, which, in its view, indicates that Stadler’s bid would exceed the available budget and would therefore be higher than the one submitted by Škoda Transtech.
The tender for the Helsinki-Vantaa trams was launched in 2023 for a framework agreement covering the delivery of more than 183 trams.
The tender for trams in the Helsinki–Vantaa area was launched in 2023 with the aim of replacing the existing fleet, which has been in service since the 1970s and 1980s, as well as supplying new vehicles for a network currently undergoing expansion and modernization.
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