Although
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...
has no dedicated
high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, line ...
lines, sections of its rail network are capable of running speeds of . The Finnish national railway company
VR operates tilting
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...
Pendolino trains. The trains reach their maximum speed of 220 km/h in regular operation on a route between
Kerava
Kerava (; sv, Kervo) is a town and municipality within the Uusimaa region of Finland. The municipalities of Vantaa, Sipoo and Tuusula are adjacent to Kerava, which is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area.
The town has a population of () ...
and
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...
.
This portion of track was opened in 2006. The trains can run at on a longer route between
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Seinäjoki and peak at that speed between Helsinki and
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
. The main railway line between Helsinki and
Oulu has been upgraded between Seinäjoki and Oulu to allow for trains to run at speeds between and . Other parts of the Finnish railway network are limited to lower speed.
A new service called
Allegro started between Helsinki and
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, in December 2010 with a journey time of 3½ hours. It utilizes a new Pendolino model, supporting both Finnish and Russian standards.
Four new trains have been delivered, with a top speed of 220 km/h.
Between 2007 and 2010 the Russian line from the Finnish border to Saint Petersburg was electrified and improved to allow higher running speeds. The Finnish line (
Riihimäki – Saint Petersburg Railway) was also upgraded where needed, mostly to 200 km/h.
Current proposals
There are proposals for high speed rail links between Helsinki and other major Finnish cities, with the
Green League
The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland.
Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...
proposing a €10 billion investment into the country's rail infrastructure in 2018. After the
2019 Finnish parliamentary election, new
Prime Minister of Finland Antti Rinne's government confirmed its commitment to advancing the three planned Finnish high-speed rail lines; the ELSA-rata, a Helsinki-
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
line, and a link from Helsinki to Eastern Finland.
Sanna Marin,
Minister of Transport and Communications, stated in July 2019 that "we must first plan and secure the funding, before we can start building. The three high-speed links – the westbound, northbound and eastbound links – will cost a total of 10 billion euros to build. Planning the projects alone will cost roughly 350 million euros. This isn't a small amount given that roughly one billion euros is allocated for transport projects every electoral term."
In September 2019, the
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment gave authorisation to the Ministry of Transport and Communications to establish the ''Turku One Hour Train Project Company'' to oversee the Helsinki–Turku high-speed rail line, and the ''Suomirata Project Company'', which will manage development of the new Riihimäki–Tampere line. Along with this announcement, Marin confirmed the lines would most likely not be operational until the 2030s at earliest.
Helsinki–Turku
The only rail link between
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
is the
Rantarata railway line, with journey times of around two hours. The first examination of a more direct rail link between the two cities
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
and
Salo took place in 1979.
The current plans for the new railway line involve the construction of of track between
Espoo
Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...
and
Salo with maximum running speeds of per hour, allowing for a journey time of an hour between
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
and
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
compared to the current two hours; expecting to add a further 1.6 million annual passenger rail trips a year.
In 2017, the Finnish government provided €10 million in funding towards the planning and construction of the line, with half of this being eligible for
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
TEN-T funding.
As of October 2018 the line is scheduled for completion by 2031.
Helsinki–Airport–Tampere
The ''Lentorata'' has been included in the
Finnish Transport Agency's plans since 2010. Following the opening of the
Ring Rail Line in 2015, Helsinki Airport gained its first railway connection through the
Helsinki commuter rail network. However, a need has also been identified for a rail link to long distance traffic, with support from
Finavia, the mayors of Helsinki and
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
and the chief executive of the state-owned national rail company
VR Group
VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...
.
In 2019, ''Helsinki Times'' reported that a new rail connection is under consideration with an expected travel time of one hour from
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
to
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
via the airport, using the new airport line and either an upgraded
Riihimäki–Tampere railway or brand new track, would cost a total of €5.5 billion. This new line is expected to generate a further 6.5 million rail trips annually.
Helsinki–Tallinn tunnel
As possible future project connected to the Rail Baltica project, an undersea rail tunnel between Helsinki and
Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
is proposed, linking the Finnish rail network to continental Europe.
An estimated 12.5 million annual passengers would use the tunnel.
Helsinki–Airport–Kouvola
In 2018, a study was commissioned into the construction of a new rail line from Helsinki to
Kouvola
Kouvola () is a city and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, kilometers east of Lahti, west of Lappeenranta and northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is ...
via
Kerava
Kerava (; sv, Kervo) is a town and municipality within the Uusimaa region of Finland. The municipalities of Vantaa, Sipoo and Tuusula are adjacent to Kerava, which is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area.
The town has a population of () ...
and
Porvoo
Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...
, reducing the Helsinki to Kouvola travel time from 1 hour 18 minutes to 53 minutes. This new line would use the proposed
Lentorata route between Helsinki and Kerava. With a line speed, the journey time for Helsinki-St Petersburg services could be reduced by nine minutes. A 15-minute reduction could be achieved if the infrastructure was built for operation, and is forecasted to generate a further 2.8 million rail trips annually.
At a cost of €1.7 billion, it was not determined to be economically feasible by former Finnish transport minister
Anne Berner, in spite of Porvoo's status as
the largest Finnish municipality without a scheduled rail service; along with the significantly reduced travel times the line would bring to eastern Finnish cities including
Lappeenranta,
Kuopio
Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...
,
Joensuu
Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. T ...
and
Mikkeli, which currently use the
Kerava–Lahti railway line. In 2019, the government of Antti Rinne confirmed commitment to advancing proposals for this line.
Former proposals
Helsinki–Jyväskylä
In 2011 the region of
Central Finland produced a study into a high-speed rail connection between Helsinki and
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capit ...
, narrowed down to three options; via
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclo ...
,
Riihimäki or
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...
; with a top speed of – and estimated costs of €580–970 million. No further work has progressed as of 2019.
Lahti–Mikkeli
A further section of high-speed track under discussion is a line from
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...
to
Mikkeli with one intermediate station at
Heinola. This would shorten the distance by rail between the two cities by ; with a 42-46 minute travel time reduction if built to a maximum speed of , or a 50-56 minute reduction if . The projected cost of this project in 2019 was €1.5 billion.
This route offers faster journey times to Mikkeli and Kuopio, but not Joensuu and Lappeenranta.
See also
*
High-speed rail in Europe
*
Rail transport in Finland
References
{{Reflist
Railway lines in Finland
Proposed railway lines in Finland
5 ft gauge railways in Finland