Early on a Monday morning in early August, a train rumbled across a thawed out Arctic landscape in Finland before screeching to a halt at its final destination at a border crossing with Sweden.
It may sound ordinary for rail-loving European societies, but it was actually the first time these neighbors had the option to travel across the border by train in 30 years.
Now they can thanks to a twice-daily service from the Finnish town of Oulu to the Swedish town of Haparanda, an investment that’s aimed at improving tourism and business conditions for these remoter regions of the two semi-Arctic nations.
The agreement to connect the railway line was made between the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency and the Finnish railway company VR, as well as its subsidiary, VR Sweden, which operates in the northern counties of that country.
“By linking Swedish and Finnish train services, we are creating new opportunities for people to travel, work, study and visit one another across the border. At the same time, we are strengthening conditions for business and tourism throughout the region,” said Joakim Berg CEO of one of VR’s suppliers, called Norrtåg, which operates in the north.
He spoke with the outlet SwediJärnväger to mark the occasion, while the paper added that much of the Finnish network has been electrified, allowing the trains to run from the capital of Helsinki all the way to Haparanda without diesel.
Though either country uses a different rail track gauge, a divided railroad bridge will allow trains to arrive and depart Haparanda on each format. At Haparanda, passengers can embark on a series of regional trains to destinations such as the university town of Luleå to the south, or Gällivare, camp town for the world’s most efficient copper mine run by Boliden Mining, around 160 miles to the north.
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“When the new timetable period begins in December, the connections will improve even further,” Hannukainen at VR told the Arctic outlet High North News.
“The Finnish government and the municipalities in the region made the decision to launch and fund the service only last winter, by which time the Swedish timetables had already been finalized. We are working closely with Norrtåg, and as early as this autumn, passengers will have more transfer options available.”
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