Last update for this page: 02 July 2007.
National Railway System: Ratahallintokeskus (in Swedish, Banförvaltningscentralen) is responsible for infrastructure and VR Oy (VR AB) operates the trains. VR used to be the official abbreviation of Valtionrautatiet (= State railway), but is now the full company name.
Language: Finnish and Swedish are both official languages of Finland. Swedish is the first language of only 6% of the population, who live mainly in the south and west. Many public notices and signs are in both languages. In towns where the Swedish place name is used, the Finnish version is almost always shown as well.
Currency: Euro
UIC code: 10. This is not shown on VR rolling stock, which is not numbered according to the UIC system.
Timetable: VR Oy publishes four timetable booklets. Kaukoliikenne (in Finnish), Fjärrtrafik (in Swedish) and Rail Pocket Guide (in English) show all main line trains, plus outline details of the Helsinki suburban services. Lähiliikenne Närtrafik, which is bi-lingual Finnish and Swedish, gives full details of Helsinki suburban services. Suomen Kulkuneuvot (in Swedish Finlands Kommunikationer) is produced by Edita Oy, PL 800, 00043 Edita. It shows rail, bus, air and boat services throughout Finland and contains explanatory notes in Finnish, Swedish, English, French, German and Russian. It is not sold at railway stations, but can be purchased at large bookshops.
Gauge: 1524mm. There are 1435mm gauge lines at Turku, Uusikaupunki, and Hanko, which are used in connection with the train ferries there. The lines at Turku are operated by Finnlines Oy and by SeaWind Line Oy. Those at Uusikaupunki and Hanko are currently not in operation. VR Oy has no 1435mm gauge rolling stock.
Electrification: 25kV 50Hz
Rule of the Road: Right
Other Railways: Karhulan - Sunnilan rautatie (a freight line near Kotka)
Tourist Lines:
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Jokioisten Museorautatie: Humppila - Jokioinen (750mm gauge) |
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Nykarleby Jernvag operates a 600mm gauge line at Kovjoki, along 2 km of the trackbed of the former VR Uusikaarlepyy branch. |
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Porvoon Museorautatie is responsible for the 1524mm gauge line between Olli and Porvoon keskusta, but operates diesel railcars through to Kerava and Helsinki. Höyryraide Ay works steam trains over part of this line, between Porvoon asema and Hinthaara. |
Metro: Helsinki
Trams: Helsinki
Trolleybuses: None
Special notes:
The spelling of proper names in Finnish varies according to grammatical case. The name of the Finnish capital is Helsinki, but this appears as Helsingistä (from Helsinki), Helsinkiin (to Helsinki), Helsingin (Helsinki's) and in Helsingissä (in Helsinki), as well as Helsingfors in Swedish. Many towns have names in both Finnish and Swedish, eg: Oulu - Uleåborg, Pori - Bjorneborg, Tampere - Tammerfors etc.
Supplements or enhanced fares are payable for travel on IC, IC2 and Pendolino trains. These include a seat reservation. Reserved seats are not marked as such on any type of long-distance train.
If tickets are purchased or a supplement paid on the train, an additional charge is made, unless the passenger boarded at a station where there was no facility to buy a ticket. If a ticket is purchased from a machine there is a small rebate on the price. A penalty fare system operates on Helsinki suburban trains, and passengers without a ticket must board a carriage where tickets are sold by staff. Carriages in which tickets cannot be purchased are indicated by prominent signs on the outside.
Long distance trains also include special areas to be used by those travelling with dogs or other animals. IC and IC2 trains have compartments for passengers suffering from allergies. All parts of Pendolino trains are stated to be designed for passengers with allergies, except for the carriage where animals are permitted.
Maps: Ratahallintokeskus produces a system map, but this is not generally available for public sale. Timetables contain rudimentary maps showing only the main stations. Railways are depicted well in GT Tiekartasto Suomi-Finland, a road atlas with maps at 1:200,000 (1:400,000 north of Oulo).
Recent and future developments: Finnish railways have been subject to reconstruction and electrification since the 1960s. Recent schemes include upgrading the Helsinki to Turku line, which was completed in 1993. The Pönttövuori tunnel, between Jyväskylä and Lievestuore, came into use in 1995 in connection with electrification of the line from Jyväskylä to Pieksämäki. Extensive work is currently under way on sections of the main line between Helsinki and Tampere. A major new alignment at Lempääla came into use in 2002. Electrification of the line from Oulu to Rovaniemi was completed in December 2004 and electrification between Iisalmi and Oulu is due for completion in December 2006. The freight line to the Russian border at Vartius is also being electrified.
A high speed line from Kerava to Lahti - a new shortcut from Helsinki towards the east and St Petersburg – has been completed and will come into passenger use on 3 September 2006. For more details see www.rhk.fi/oikorata.
A new line to connect with the harbour developments at Vuosaari in eastern Helsinki is being built. This will leave the main Helsinki-Tampere line at Savio south of Kerava and enter a 13km tunnel, emerging a few km north of the new harbour. It will then continue about 1.5km then enter a second short tunnel before emerging on a specially constructed, environmentally friendly bridge and then enter the harbour area. Details can be found at www.vuosaarensatama.fi.
New diesel railcars, built in the Czech Republic, were introduced in 2005/2006 on lightly used lines, principally to Savonlinna, Nurmes and between Iisalmi and Ylivieska.
Document generated 10 July 2002. "Recent and future developments" update (16 November 2002); "Gauge" updated (18 November 2002); general amendments (4 July 2004, 21 November 2004, 29 May 2006); reference to smoking areas on trains removed (2 July 2007).
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