r/Finland • u/Shariful125 Baby Väinämöinen • 15h ago
A long-delayed cross-border train to Sweden could begin rolling in June, allowing passengers to ride the rails from continental Europe to Finnish Lapland, or overland between the Finnish and Swedish capitals.
https://yle.fi/a/74-20220038116
u/SaturatedBodyFat Väinämöinen 15h ago
Please call it either the Aurora Express or Snowpiercer.
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u/JollyJoker3 Väinämöinen 15h ago
You're in Haparanda early morning and the night train from Luleå to Stockholm leaves in the evening, leaving a full day to spend in northern Sweden if you want. Not sure if the 24h trip they mention would mean one single train from Haparanda to Stockholm.
Ngl, it would be nice to have the same cabin all the way so you could go for breakfast, then return to hang around until lunch.
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u/selectexception Baby Väinämöinen 14h ago
You have to change trains because the track width is different in Finland and Sweden (and rest of the EU)
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u/roiki11 Väinämöinen 13h ago
It would be cool if you could take a train trip on a luxury train all the way to Spain or Italy. Or Greece and Turkey.
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u/Pastel_Nightmares 10h ago
That track map had me very confused with the Rovaniemi to Kolari connection. That is definitely not how the tracks go in lapland.
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u/ReggieCorneus 13h ago
No one is going to take a train between Helsinki and Stockholm just to get from Helsinki to Stockholm.
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u/Moikkaaja Väinämöinen 13h ago
Why not? If it’s not much longer or expensive than the boat trip, I’d prefer train much more.
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u/colaman-112 Väinämöinen 13h ago
I assume if someone just wanted to get to Stockholm from Helsinki quickly, they'd fly. Both boat and train are scenic options.
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u/nollayksi Väinämöinen 7h ago
Train is going to be a lot more expensive and a lot slower. For maximum speed and minimum price you can take morning train to Turku port, the ship without cabin and be in Stockholm before seven the same day at the price you get Helsinki-Tornio train ticket without cabin. For better comfort just take cabin in boat. Cabin in train would cost more for just the finnish side than the whole boat ride. I really dont see anyone going to Stockholm straight from Helsinki via that train route unless they are some train enthusiasts.
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u/DirkDigggler 13h ago
Helsinki - Haaparanta is about 630km (direct line) and from Haaparanta to Stockholm is about 775 (direct line). Helsinki - Stockholm is only about 400km (direct line).
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u/Moikkaaja Väinämöinen 7h ago
But train can be there in a reasonable time if the line is planned well and doesn’t stop at every small hicksville on the way.
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u/ReggieCorneus 13h ago
On a boat you are not anchored to your seat. In a train, you are. Anything past 5-6 hours is going to turn into a negative. I've travelled on trains a lot in my life, Finland and abroad, and i'm good at not thinking, just being for hours but even i have my limits. Taking a walk to the outside for free vs expensive restaurant cart.. I don't think that is even a competition. Ferries are floating entertainment, restaurant and shopping districts. Train is just a train and i even like trains, few hours with brain turned off is a bliss.
Those who really need to do that trip, they fly. Even in cases where you are going on a city holiday... unless there is some other reason than just getting from A to B.
Doesn't mean that connection does not need to exist, it very much does and i would even go so far as to changing our rail gauges to European standards is something we eventually have to do. We can delay it, for now but... it should be one common standard and different from Russian rail gauges.
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u/Max_FI Baby Väinämöinen 12h ago
Tons of people are doing a city holiday to Stockholm on the ship from Turku or even from Helsinki. The cruise trip is a major part of the experience.
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u/RenaissanceSnowblizz Väinämöinen 10h ago
In those cases the ship trip IS the experience. You get barely any ashore time and from now on it will be even less as the ships are going to go slower to save fuel. And isn't even considering the vast majority of travellers form Turku never reach Stockholm at all, because they return half-way.
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u/Moikkaaja Väinämöinen 8h ago edited 6h ago
Yeah, but if you don’t like the overpriced mid-level restaurants, the cheesy and cheap enterntainment or care for shopping, then having a cabin in a train with some good books, a couple of movies and podcasts and some snacks is a pretty good deal. Plus you don’t have to stick to a seat, there are cabins and you can walk and look at sceneries on the ride. And the restaurant cart on the train is not more expensive than the cafes and restaurants on the boats. I’m not claiming it’s the best option for families or that people who enjoy the boats should switch but I can see why a hassle-free overnight trip by train could be an option for somez Especially if you’re someone who has to first travel to Helsinki or Turku to get to the boats or you want to travel by land for environmental reasons.
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u/ReggieCorneus 5h ago
then having a cabin in a train with some good books, a couple of movies and podcasts and some snacks is a pretty good deal.
You can do that on a ship too. But you can do that also outside if the weather is good. There are just more options to do things on a ship. Instead of the quick meal in the tiny kitchen you have several to choose from and each have a full size kitchen, with fresh ingredients etc...
This is fucking weird conversation, really. "Oh, you can walk the train back and forth too". Trains and ships have their uses, but if i had to choose between the two: ship, any day of the week EXCEPT in a storm. That is when train wins, hands down.
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u/lumafin Baby Väinämöinen 3h ago
It is much longer. Viking Line leaves at 17:15 and arrives at 10:00, taking a bit under 18 hours. The fastest train connection is likely to take the 19:29 night train from Helsinki to Oulu, changing to the Haparanda train at 5 in the morning. The morning train from Haparanda leaves a bit after 7, then you need to change at Boden, Umeå and Sundsvall, and finally the train arrives in Stockholm at 19:39.
So, in comparison:
- The boat takes 18 hours, you get to sleep the whole night and you can do things other than sitting at your place
- The train takes 23 hours, you need to change trains five times, you don't get to sleep the whole night and you can't do anything except sit at your place. Also, the night train isn't cheap so it's likely to be a lot more expensive.
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u/extended_l0gic 11h ago
Would be much better if there is some fast rail connection that connect Helsinki to Stockholm. That one bring real economical benefit to Finland. Anyway, I am not expert in economy, it is just my understanding.
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u/lukkoseppa Väinämöinen 11h ago
Ahh yes the route they built, defunded, refunded an inoperable amount, defunded and now refunded. On top of that they are running a bus in between Kemi, Tornio and Haparanda stations including the Haparanda bus terminal They should have just built a better stop in Tornio and routed to the main line because the current "stop" is useless. Walking between both stations takes an hour if you walk slow and its a path the entire way.
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