Finland and Sweden are connected by train again

After a life-long of flying and making airports pretty much my second home, I now believe that air travel has become increasingly uncomfortable and utterly frustrating. If you have been a traveller for a while, I am sure you will agree. Lately, more travellers are choosing slower, greener alternatives which offer a more relaxed and enjoyable journey than flying.

We can also say that “slower” is debatable. Travelling to and from airports, transfers, security, and time spent waiting before departure may take long hours. If we think about it, flying may not always be as convenient as we may think it is.

Let’s have a look at one of the most recent good news from Finland.

First, a little bit of history which may explain why this is significant for Finland. Since 1988, travelling between Finland and Sweden by train has been difficult. The two countries share a border, however, for 38 years there has been no regular passenger rail service crossing it. Passenger train service between Oulu and Haparanda (or Haaparanta, in Finnish) stopped because there were not enough passengers and there were technical differences in the railway tracks between Finland and Sweden, something I’ll explain below.

However, that changed when on 10 August, 2026 trains on this route started to run again. Since then, a new train service operated by VR connects Oulu and Tornio in Finland with Haparanda in Sweden. The cross-border connection from Oulu to Haparanda takes around one hour and 40 minutes.

For Finland, this means a reconnection through rail to northern Sweden, and, through Sweden, a connection to the wider European railway network.

A railway link with a long history: a tale of two twin towns

Tornio in Finland and Haparanda in Sweden are two towns that sit directly beside one another on the border; they are separated by the Tornio River. Haparanda’s railway station dates back to 1919 and remained a ghost station for decades. The two twin towns, Tornio and Haparanda, have unique border dynamics; they share a border with no checkpoints, there is a joint central square called Victoria Square, and there is even cross-border cooperation. Yet, the two towns sit in different time zones with Finland being one hour ahead of Sweden.

So, what we call the “new” service is just a service that once existed and has just been restored. The trains, operated by Finland’s state railway company VR, offer services running daily between Oulu, Tornio, and Haparanda. From Haparanda, passengers can connect with Swedish regional trains operated by Norrtåg, including services towards the university town of Luleå. The route brings new possibilities for northern travellers and connects two major university towns: Oulu in Finland and Luleå in Sweden.

Furthermore, if you want to explore Finland and Sweden, you could start your journey in Helsinki, take a train to Oulu, then take the new route to Haparanda in Sweden, and continue south to Stockholm. Because, why not?

From Finland to the rest of Europe by land: train travel lets you see places you wouldn’t see otherwise

The new connection opens up alternatives and new possibilities for people who prefer travelling overland. Interestingly, it explains a lot about Finland, too. Finland has traditionally been some sort of a railway island.

Despite Finland having an extensive domestic rail network that works pretty well, it has one big problem: its track gauge, which is the distance between the two rails of a railway track, differs from most of Europe. This, combined with its geographical position, has made international train travel more difficult than in much of continental Europe. This is because Finland uses a broad 1,524 mm (5 feet) gauge, which was common in 19th-century Russia and thus also in the Duchy of Finland whereas most of Europe uses the narrower 1,435 mm standard gauge.

Luckily, Finland is actively planning to convert sections of its network to the European standard gauge to help improve cross-border travel and military mobility.

Passengers can travel north from Finland into Sweden and continue through the Scandinavian railway network. In the future, timetable improvements will make connections at Haparanda easier, strengthening links towards Luleå and beyond. Meanwhile, for travellers who want to reduce their dependence on flying --including myself-- the new connection sounds exciting. This is also part of a broader European revival of long-distance rail travel.

Why it matters for Finland

For a country that is at Europe’s northern edge, better rail connections are paramount. The new line could make it easier for tourists to reach and explore northern Finland; it could improve connections between other Finnish and Swedish cities, and it could also encourage more cross-border travel for students, academics, workers, and businesses in the region.

Perhaps what is most significant is that it gives Finland a direct passenger railway connection with the rest of the European rail network. This alone means a massive upgrade for the tourism industry and for Finland itself.