Rail transport in Finland

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Rail transport in Finland
Trains at Helsinki Central Station, 2019
Operation
National railway	VR
Infrastructure company	Finnish Transport Agency
Statistics
Ridership	14.9 million / year long-distance 77.9 million / year in Helsinki commuter traffic[1]
System length
Total	9,216 km (5,727 mi)
Electrified	3,249 km (2,019 mi)
Track gauge
Main	1,524 mm (5 ft)
Electrification
Main	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead wiring
Features
Longest tunnel	Savio, 13.5 km (8.4 mi)[2]
Map The Finnish railway network in 2010. Lines marked in green are freight- and passenger routes, brown are freight-only routes, blue is heritage railway, and grey are no longer in use.

The Finnish railway network consists of a total track length of 9,216 km (5,727 mi). The railways are built with a broad 1,524 mm (5 ft) track gauge, of which 3,249 km (2,019 mi) is electrified. Passenger trains are operated by the state-owned enterprise VR that runs services on 7,225 km (4,489 mi) of track. These services cover all major cities and many rural areas, though the coverage is less than the coverage provided by the bus services. Most passenger train services originate or terminate at Helsinki Central railway station, and a large proportion of the passenger rail network radiates out of Helsinki. VR also operates freight services. Maintenance and construction of the railway network itself is the responsibility of the Finnish Rail Administration, which is a part of the Finnish Transport Agency (Finnish: Väylävirasto, Swedish: Trafikledsverket). The network consists of six areal centres, that manage the use and maintenance of the routes in co-operation. Cargo yards and large stations may have their own signalling systems.

Finnish trains have a reputation for being spacious, comfortable and clean. ^{[citation needed]} The scenery surrounding the railway lines is considered to be of outstanding natural beauty, especially in Eastern Finland with its many lakes. Since the density of population is low in most parts of Finland, the country is not very well suited to railways. Commuter services are nowadays rare outside the Helsinki area, but there are express train connections between most of the cities. As in France, passenger services are mostly connections from various parts of the country to the capital, Helsinki. Currently^[when?] there are about 260 passenger round trips driven daily in Finland, excluding Helsinki commuter rail. Nightly passenger trains only operate on the busiest lines between Helsinki or Turku via Oulu to Lapland (minimum distance of 676 km (420 mi)), leaving most tracks free for nightly freight traffic (about 40 million tonnes per year).^{[clarification needed]} In addition there are also good long-distance bus and airplane connections; buses are sometimes faster and/or cheaper than trains (e.g. Helsinki–Pori).