Helsinki regional transit company HSL and state railways VR grappled with major disruptions on Sunday due to a track circuit fault near Tikkurila in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki. That led to cancellations of many local trains in the capital region, with knock-on delays on long-distance trains.
HSL said on Sunday morning that it did not know how soon the problem would be fixed but that delays and cancellations were expected to continue into Sunday afternoon. HSL reported that the problem had been fixed shortly after 2pm, but warned of continuing delays.
HSL announced many changes in local train traffic including these:
- K-trains were only operating between Helsinki and Tapanila.
- I and P trains were only running on the Helsinki-Huopalahti-Airport-Hiekkaharju route.
- There was no train service to the Puistola, Koivukylä, Rekola, Korso and Savio stations. Alternative connections are listed on the HSL website and Journey Planner.
Only R and Z trains were running between the Kerava and Tikkurila stations. A rail replacement bus was running between Ala-Malmintori and Kerava via the intermediate stations. HSL and VR tickets are accepted on the bus.
Other cancellations and delays are possible in local traffic, while delays of 15-30 minutes are expected for long-distance trains.
Around 10:45am, HSL estimated that it would be two to three hours before the damage was repaired.
Last week local trains began running again in Helsinki's western suburbs and between Espoo and Turku, after being shut down for most of the summer due to track work.
