Oulu-Haparanda train restores Finland-Sweden link

A new passenger train has begun carrying people between Finland and Sweden, restoring the first direct rail link between northern Finland and southern Europe in nearly 40 years. Shortly after 5 a.m. local time on Monday, a double-decker train departed Oulu, a coastal city in Finland, and crossed the border into Sweden, arriving at Haparanda station to cheers and waving flags from both countries.

The route had been suspended in the late 1980s and early 1990s because of low ridership and technical mismatches in track widths. Finland still uses wider Russian-style tracks, a legacy from when it was part of the Russian Grand Duchy in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The country is gradually shifting to European-standard tracks, but until that process finishes, passengers must transfer at the border. The new service runs twice daily and takes 100 minutes to travel from Oulu to Haparanda along Finland’s west coast.

Passengers continuing south from Haparanda will switch to a different train, but the connection opens up a potential 5,000-kilometre rail journey from Portugal’s Algarve region to Kolari, Finland’s northernmost station — believed to be Europe’s longest continuous train route. It also cuts travel time between the capitals Helsinki and Stockholm to around 24 hours. Finland’s transport minister called the relaunched service a sign that cooperation with Sweden is “growing all the time,” while the head of Finland’s state railway operator VR said she expects a broader revival in European rail travel to help boost numbers.

Officials say the twice-daily schedule is a first step. As Finland completes its track conversion, future services could run more frequently and reach further into Europe, offering a greener alternative to driving or flying. For now, the restored link gives travelers a new way to cross between the two countries and re-connects a historic corridor that once carried people and goods across the Nordic region.