The Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway is a long segment of the

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 ...

–

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 ...

connection, which is divided between Saint Petersburg and

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the province of

Southern Finland Southern Finland ( fi, Etelä-Suomen lääni, sv, Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia. History O ...

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 B ...

History

It was constructed in 1867–70 (starting from both ends), entirely by the government of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, although the short section between Saint Petersburg and Beloostrov (where Russian customs was situated in 1870–1939) was laid in Russia ( Saint Petersburg Governorate). The

Finlyandsky Rail Terminal St Petersburg–Finlyandsky (russian: Станция Санкт-Петербург-Финля́ндский ''Stantsiya Sankt-Peterburg-Finlyandskiy'', in spoken language usually just russian: Финля́ндский вокзал ''Finlyandskiy ...

was opened in Saint Petersburg in 1870 in order to serve this line. The rail link starts at the

Riihimäki railway station Riihimäki railway station (, ) is a railway station located in the town of Riihimäki, Finland. History The Riihimäki railway station is one of the original stations on the main railway track from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna, opened in 1862 (see ...

of the Helsinki–Hämeenlinna connection, heading towards the Finlyandsky Railway Terminal of Saint Petersburg through

Lahti railway station The Lahti railway station ( fi, Lahden rautatieasema, sv, Lahtis järnvägsstation) is located in the city of Lahti in Finland. History During the planning stages of the Saint Petersburg railway, two track alignment options were weighed with ...

Kouvola railway station The Kouvola railway station ( fi, Kouvolan rautatieasema, sv, Kouvola järnvägsstation) is located in the city of Kouvola in Finland. The Kouvola railway station is an important crossing point station. It is located about from the Helsinki Cen ...

Vyborg railway station Vyborg (russian: Вы́борг; fi, Viipurin rautatieasema) is a railway station, located in the town of Vyborg in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The first wooden station building was built in 1870. The second station building was built in 1913 but ...

(formerly Viipuri/Viborg/Wiborg) and

Zelenogorsk Zelenogorsk (russian: Зеленогорск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Zelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai *Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg, a municipal town in Kurortny ...

(formerly Terijoki). It wasn't until 1913 when the line became connected to the Russian railways as the

Finland Railway Bridge The Finland Railway Bridge () is a pair of parallel rail bridges across the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The movable bridges are connecting the Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg Railway and other railway networks in the north of St Peters ...

across the

River Neva The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...

in Saint Petersburg was opened. Until 1917, when Finland became an independent state, the railroad had been operated by the

Finnish State Railways 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 ...

for all its length, including that section. Due to construction of the southern sections of the railroad, the western part of the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...

on both sides of the Russian-Finnish border became a popular '' dacha'' resort place among wealthy St. Petersburgers in the late nineteenth century. After the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

(1939–40) and Continuation War (1941–44), concluded with the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

, Moscow Armistice and Paris Peace Treaty, the

with the eastern part of the railroad (from Louko (Pogranitshnoye) to Rajajoki (western part of Sestroretsk)) was ceded by Finland to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The railway stations Louko (Pogranitshnoye) and Rajajoki were abandoned by Russians. In 2006, the high speed railway 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 e ...

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 () an ...

was opened, and that cut half an hour off the travel time from Helsinki. In 2010, the speed was raised to 200 km/h most of distance Lahti–St Petersburg. The freight traffic will be later moved to another upgraded railway,

Saint Petersburg–Hiitola railroad In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

. This and the introduction of high speed trains of type Sm6 cut the travel time by two hours to about 3:30. The railway upgrade cost in Finland was €244M, with an EU contribution of €23M.

At present

The international high-speed train

Allegro Allegro may refer to: Common meanings * Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright * Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement Artistic works * L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton * ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...

(

Karelian Trains Oy Karelian Trains Ltd was a joint venture agreed on 23 November 2006 between Russian Railways (RZhD) and VR Group (Finnish Railways) to facilitate the operation of international express passenger rail services between Helsinki, Finland, and Saint ...

, Helsinki–St. Petersburg) and the sleeper train Tolstoy (Russian Railways, Moscow–St. Petersburg–Helsinki)Tolstoy stops at the recently opened

Ladozhsky Rail Terminal St. Petersburg-Ladozhsky (russian: Ла́дожский вокза́л), is the newest and most modern passenger railway station in Saint Petersburg, Russia, opened in 2003. It is the only major through station in the city, the other 4 are termini ...

. For some time after its construction other international trains of this direction also stopped there rather than at the Finlyandsky Rail Terminal. run daily on this route between Hakosilta and Finlyandsky Rail Terminal. The Russian part of the railroad is used by suburban trains (''

elektrichka Elektrichka (russian: электри́чка, p=əlʲɪˈktrʲitɕkə; uk, електри́чка, elektrychka) is a Soviet and Eastern bloc commuter (regional) mostly suburban electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespr ...

s'') of the Finlyandsky Rail Terminal with their final destinations at

Roshchino Roshchino (russian: Рощино) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Roshchino, Leningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement under the administrative jurisdiction of Roshchinskoye Settlemen ...

, Kanneljärvi, Kirillovskoye, Gavrilovo (Kämärä) or

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...

, as well as elektrichkas Vyborg– Buslovskaya (Houni). The railroad is connected to the Vyborg–Joensuu railroad at Vyborg, to a number of tracks, including the

, at the Finlyandsky Rail Terminal of St. Petersburg, and also has links to Kerava from Hakosilta, to Vesijärvi, Loviisa and Heinola from Lahti, to Kotka and Mikkeli from Kouvola, to Joensuu from Luumäki, to Primorsk (Koivisto) from Lazarevka (Liimatta) and Zelenogorsk (Terijoki), to

Veshchevo Veshchevo (russian: Вещево; fi, Heinjoki) is a rural locality on Karelian Isthmus, in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, and a station of the Vyborg– Zhitkovo railroad. The railway track between Veshchevo and Zhitkovo was, howeve ...

(Heinjoki) (and earlier as far as to Zhitkovo (Ristseppälä) and Michurniskoye (Valkjärvi) from Lazarevka and with Sestroretsk from Beloostrov and Lanskaya. Besides, the line has also a number of short blind branches. As the Russian part of the tracks is planned to be renovated to handle high-speed international trains (see

) and to be used exclusively for passenger traffic, the cargo traffic (mostly lumber, granite rubble, oil) is expected to be switched to the

Stations and branches

International train stops are bolded. Former names (most of the stations ceded to the Soviet Union were renamed in 1948), distance (from Riihimäki for the Finnish part and from St. Petersburg for the Russian part) and suburban tariff zones (for the Russian part) are given in brackets.

Finland

(0 km, links to Helsinki and Hämeenlinna) : Hikiä railway station (8 km) :

Oitti railway station Oitti railway station ( fi, Oitin rautatieasema) is a railway station in the village of Oitti in the municipality of Hausjärvi, Finland. The station is located along the Riihimäki–Lahti line, approximately away from Riihimäki railway stati ...

(15 km) :

Mommila railway station The Mommila railway station ( fi, Mommilan rautatieasema, sv, Mommila järnvägsstation) is located in Hausjärvi, Finland, in the village of Mommila. It is located along the Riihimäki–Lahti line, and its neighboring stations are Oitti in the ...

(20 km) :

Lappila railway station The Lappila railway station ( fi, Lappilan rautatieasema, sv, Lappila järnvägsstation) is located in Kärkölä, Finland, in the village and urban area of Lappila. It is located along the Riihimäki–Lahti line, and its neighboring stations ar ...

(26 km) : Järvelä railway station (32 km) :

Herrala railway station The Herrala railway station ( fi, Herralan rautatieasema, sv, Herrala järnvägsstation) is located in Hollola, Finland, in the village and urban area of Herrala. It is located along the Riihimäki–Lahti line, and its neighboring stations are J ...

(44 km) :

(63 km, links to Vesijärvi, Loviisa, Heinola and Kerava) :

Nastola railway station The Nastola railway station (Finnish: ''Nastolan rautatieasema'', Swedish language: ''Nastola järnvägsstation'') is located in the city of Lahti (formerly the municipality of Nastola) in the Päijänne Tavastia region, in Finland. The station ...

(79 km) :

Uusikylä railway station The Uusikylä railway station ( fi, Uudenkylän rautatieasema, sv, Uusikylä järnvägsstation; formerly ) is located in the city of Lahti (formerly the municipality of Nastola), Finland, in the district of Uusikylä. It is located along the Lah ...

(82 km) :

Mankala railway station The mancala games are a family of two-player turn-based strategy board games played with small stones, beans, or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board or other playing surface. The objective is usually to capture all or some ...

(93 km) :

Kausala railway station The Kausala railway station ( fi, Kausalan rautatieasema, sv, Kausala järnvägsstation) is located in the municipality of Iitti, Finland, in the urban area and municipal seat of Kausala. It is located along the Lahti–Kouvola railway, and it ...

(99 km) :

Koria railway station The Koria railway station ( fi, Korian rautatieasema, sv, Koria järnvägsstation) is located in the town of Kouvola, Finland, in the urban area and district of Koria. It is located along the Lahti–Kouvola railway, and its neighboring statio ...

(115 km) :

(121 km, links to Kotka and Mikkeli) : Utti railway station (123 km) : Kaipiainen railway station (133 km) : Taavetti railway station (156 km) : Luumäki railway station (168 km, link to Joensuu) : Pulsa railway station (178 km) : Simola railway station (188 km) :

Vainikkala railway station Vainikkala is a small village of approximately 400 inhabitants in South Karelia, Eastern Finland. It is part of the Lappeenranta municipality and is located about south of the city centre. Vainikkala is right on the Finnish border with Russia a ...

Leningrad Oblast (Finland before WWII)

:Louko (Pogranitshnoye), doesn't exist now)) :Buslovskaya (Houni) :(Hämee, doesn't exist now) :Luzhayka (Nurmi, zone 15) :144th km :Kravtsovo (Hovinmaa, zone 14) :138th km : Prigorodnaya (Tienhaara, zone 14) :(Ykspää, doesn't exist now) :Khiyetala (Hietala, doesn't exist now) :(Sorvali, doesn't exist now) :134th km :(Saunalahti, doesn't exist now) :(Hiekka, doesn't exist now) :(Linnansaari, doesn't exist now) :(Kirkkosaari, doesn't exist now) :

(Viipuri, zone 13, connected to the Vyborg–Joensuu railroad) :Lazarevka (Liimatta, zone 13, links to Primorsk and Veshchevo) :Verkhne-Cherkasovo (Säiniö, zone 13) :117th km (zone 12) :Lebedevka (Honkaniemi, zone 12) :Gavrilovo (Kämärä, zone 12) :

Leypyasuo Leypyasuo (russian: Лейпясуо; fi, Leipäsuo) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, and a station of the Saint Petersburg–Vyborg railway, located on the Karelian Isthmus. Within the framework of m ...

(Leipäsuo, earlier Äyräpää (1918-1920) and Galitzina (before 1917), zone 11) : Kirillovskoye (Perkjärvi, zone 10) :(Sykjärvi, doesn't exist now) :Zakhodskoye (Lounatjoki, zone 9) :

Pobeda, Leningrad Oblast Pobeda (russian: Побе́да; fi, Kanneljärvi) is a rural locality on Karelian Isthmus, in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, served by the station Kanneljärvi of the Saint Petersburg–Vyborg railroad. Until the Winter War and Contin ...

(Kanneljärvi, zone 9) :Shevelyovo (zone 9) :Gorkovskoye (Mustamäki, zone 8) :63rd km (zone 7) :

(Raivola, zone 7)

Saint Petersburg (Finland before WWII)

:Ushkovo (Tyrisevä, zone 7) :

(Terijoki, zone 6, link to Primorsk) :

Komarovo Komarovo may refer to: *Komarovo, Saint Petersburg, a municipal settlement under jurisdiction of Saint Petersburg, Russia * Komarovo, Novgorod Oblast, a former urban-type settlement in Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́ ...

(Kellomäki, zone 5) :(Kanerva, doesn't exist now) : Repino (Kuokkala, zone 5) :Solnechnoye (Ollila, zone 5) :(Rajajoki, doesn't exist now)

Saint Petersburg

: Beloostrov (zone 4, link to Sestroretsk) :Dibuny (zone 3) :Pesochnaya (formerly Grafskaya, zone 3) : Levashovo (zone 3) :Pargolovo (zone 3, link to the Murino station of the

) :Shuvalovo (zone 2) :Ozerki (zone 2) :Udelnaya (zone 2) : Lanskaya (zone 1, link to Sestroretsk) :Saint Petersburg –

(zone 0, connection to the

and other railroads in Russia)

Electrification

*Finlyandsky Rail Terminal–Zelenogorsk – 1951 *Zelenogorsk–Ushkovo – 1952 *Ushkovo–Roshchino – 1954 *Roshchino–Kirillovskoye – 1968 *Kirillovskoye–Vyborg – 1969 *Vyborg–Luzhayka – 1977 *International connection – 1978

References

External links

130 лет. Поездом от Хельсинки до Санкт-ПетербургаИстория. 1870–1918 годыЖелезные дороги Карельского перешейка

Pietarin rata toi Lahdelle menestyksen eväät
– '' Etelä-Suomen Sanomat'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Riihimaki - Saint Petersburg Railway Railway lines in Finland Railway lines in Russia Karelia Rail transport in Leningrad Oblast Karelian Isthmus Railway lines opened in 1870 International railway lines 5 ft gauge railways in Finland