Finland’s railway system is now a walled garden of sorts, with nearly 6,000 kilometres of tracks sealed off from the outside world.
That will change in early August.
Tickets go on sale next Tuesday for the first Finnish cross-border train trips in more than five years – and the first to Sweden in 38 years.
The direct rail link between the northern Finnish town of Tornio and its Swedish neighbour, Haparanda, will resume in August. Finnish VR trains last plied the route in 1988, while Swedish traffic still continued to Tornio until 1992.
"This is really good news," the City of Tornio’s Development Director, Sampo Kangastalo, told Yle News on Thursday.
"The people of Tornio have welcomed the news of the new passenger train connection with enthusiasm. Hopefully, this will also be reflected in passenger flows."
Main celebration in Oulu
On Thursday, VR confirmed that it has signed a long-awaited purchase agreement with the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) for passenger train services from Oulu via Tornio to Haparanda.
From there, passengers can board trains heading toward Norway, southern Sweden and on to the European continent over the Øresund Bridge to Denmark.
VR said in a press release that the launch of the service has required close cooperation with the Finnish and Swedish authorities on issues such as customs and border crossing procedures.
Daily rail service between the countries will begin on 10 August, with special events and celebrations to be held at stations along the route.
According to Kangastalo, the main celebration event will be held in Oulu on 10 August, with side events at the stations in Tornio city centre and Haparanda.
"Tornio officials will take part in the celebrations and the first journey," he added.
Tickets on sale next week
Tickets for the route between Oulu and Haparanda will go on sale next Tuesday.
At that point, more detailed schedules will become available on VR's website and app. The trains will run 28 times a week, twice in each direction every day of the week.
The Finnish state, the cities of Tornio and Oulu, and the Sea Lapland Development Centre are co-financing of the rail connection, which is not expected to initially be profitable.
"I hope that the new route will strengthen accessibility, promote mobility between countries, increase Nordic cooperation and improve security of supply," says Kangastalo.
25 June, 2pm: Updated with Kangastalo comments.
2.23pm: Corrected date of last VR train to Sweden.
