Now Finland is even faster

¹TNS Gallup 2016, N=1 100

Vaasa–Helsinki, 19 minutes faster. Seinäjoki–Helsinki, 15 minutes faster.

In the future, your journey from Vaasa to Helsinki and back will be on average 19 minutes faster, in other words you can make it in 3 hours 44 minutes. There will be five direct connections daily in both directions.

You can get from Seinäjoki to Helsinki on average 15 minutes faster, in 2 hours and 45 minutes. There will be 11 daily service connections in both directions.

The Vaasa–Seinäjoki route will be on average six minutes faster, and will take 47 minutes. In the future, there will be six daily service connections in both directions instead of the current seven.

All trains to and from Vaasa will in future stop at Tervajoki. As of 20^th of June, trains will no longer stop at Laihia, Ylistaro and Isokyrö. This way we can make services faster and serve larger numbers of passengers better. As of 20^th of June, a bus transfer connection will be arranged from these locations to a station serving long-distance traffic. Read more here

See route map

Oulu–Helsinki, 38 minutes faster

Services will be on average 38 minutes faster between Oulu and Helsinki, however after the reform, fast trains from Helsinki will reach Oulu on average 23 minutes faster, in 5 hours and 56 minutes. There will be three of these services in both directions every day.

In addition, the journey time of slower trains that serve smaller intermediate stations between Oulu and Helsinki will be 56 minutes faster and will take on average 6 hrs 23 mins as of 20^th of June. The train will also stop at Kempele.

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Tampere–Helsinki, a fast train every hour

We will double the number of current fast train service connections. In the summer, 14 daily services will depart from Tampere and 15 from Helsinki. Fast services will stop at Pasila and Tikkurila.

In the future trains that stop more frequently will continue to operate at one-hour intervals during peak hours. With 12 services departing from Tampere and 10 from Helsinki. These trains will also stop at Lempäälä, Toijala, Hämeenlinna and Riihimäki.

The number of regional trains serving smaller stations will remain the same. Commuter trains between Riihimäki and Helsinki will operate at half-hour intervals.

If you commute from Hämeenlinna or the nearby region towards Helsinki, your journey will be as smooth as before. The reductions in the number of train services does not apply to peak times in commuter traffic. 

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 Jyväskylä–Helsinki, more direct connections

Your travel time will be on average seven minutes shorter and will be 3 hours 16 minutes in total in the future. All connections will be direct service connections and in the future there will be eight services in both directions.

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Kuopio–Helsinki, all direct connections

As of 20^th of June, almost all trains southbound from Kuopio will run through Kouvola and all connections to Helsinki will be direct. The services will operate five times a day in both directions. In addition, a transfer connection for passengers travelling in the direction of Jyväskylä and Tampere will be available for passengers at Pieksämäki. After Kuopio, all trains will stop at Suonenjoki, Pieksämäki, Mikkeli, Mäntyharju.

See route map

Trains are becoming more popular

The popularity of trains is growing strongly. The comfort, affordability, speed and environmental friendliness affect the choices Finns make.

After the price reform, Finns have already bought almost 250,000 train journeys more. Our first improvement, the 20 minutes faster connection between Turku and Helsinki was received extremely well. 

Restaurant services expanding

Restaurant services on VR long-distance services are expanding and improving as of 20^th of June 2016. From the end of June all long-distance trains (ex. railcars and regional trains) will have either a restaurant car or a sales trolley. The aim of the change is to offer customers more pleasant and tastier travel experiences. Restaurant services on trains are provided by Avecra. 

Now the reform continues

Starting on 20^th of June, we will offer more fast connections from Tampere, Seinäjoki, Oulu, Vaasa and Pori to Helsinki. At best, average journey times will be almost one hour faster. At the same time, we will add direct connections on the Vaasa–Helsinki, Jyväskylä–Helsinki and Kajaani–Helsinki routes. 

New earlier and later service connections

There will also be new earlier services, for example from Rovaniemi to Helsinki at 5.53 Monday through Saturday. New later departures include for example Helsinki to Rovaniemi at 15.27 Monday through Sunday, a fast service from Helsinki to Seinäjoki at 20.27 Monday through Thursday, and a new connection with one transfer from Vaasa to Helsinki at 19.34 Monday through Thursday.

New and closing stations

We will open Kempele railway station on the Oulu–Helsinki route. All trains to and from Vaasa will stop at Tervajoki in the future. Due to faster timetables and small passenger numbers, as of 20^th of June, trains will no longer stop at Laihia, Isokyrö and Ylistaro. As of 20^th of June, a bus transfer connection will be arranged from these locations to a station serving long-distance traffic. Read more here.