Finnish railway network

In Finland, the track gauge of the railway network differs from the gauge more commonly used in Europe. In Finland the track gauge is 1,524 millimetres, while in most European countries it is 1,435 mm. 

In 2025, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency began planning a Rail Nordica track with the European standard track gauge from Haparanda to the Port of Kemi. With the additional funding of the project, the planning of tracks with the European standard track gauge will be expanded to include connections to Oulu and Rovaniemi.  

More than half of the railway network has been electrified. However, 95% of VR's passenger services and 85% of VR's logistics services are powered by electricity. 

From the perspective of the growth of rail transport, the smooth flow of operations and customer satisfaction, the maintenance backlog of the state's railway network is a significant problem. The maintenance backlog has increased to about EUR 1.7 billion. The poor condition of the railway network reduces the punctuality and operational reliability of rail transport, which affects both passengers and companies that need to transport goods. The single-track railway network is very disruption-prone in terms of traffic and creates bottlenecks for rail transport. 

The condition of the railway network affects punctuality 

The punctuality of rail transport is very important to us when it comes to ensuring a great customer experience and efficient flow of traffic. Right now, about half of long-distance train delays in Finland are caused by the poor condition or malfunctions of the railway network.

In addition, temporary speed limits issued due to the poor condition of the track slow down travel and significantly increase the energy consumption of rail transport. The maximum speed of our rolling stock (220 km/h) can only be used on a small section of the railway network. 

Adequate and appropriately targeted infrastructure investments, as well as the reduction of the maintenance backlog, are the most important prerequisites for the growth of rail transport, increased competition and the achievement of emission-reduction targets for the transport sector. 

Due to the state of the central government finances, new railway investments must involve very well-targeted projects. The investments serve the competitiveness of business and employment, promote the sustainability transition and ensure Finland's security of supply in exceptional circumstances.  

According to VR, the most important development target is the main line from Helsinki to Oulu. In addition, there is a particular need to improve the Savo railway, the Karelia railway and the Tampere–Jyväskylä railway section. 

The most important of the future projects is the Airport Line. It will provide additional track capacity for the main line and faster train connections from all over Finland to Helsinki Airport without transfers.   

In order to be implemented, the West Railway will also need funding from its shareholders for the second phase of the project in the coming years.  

Railway projects in the coming years 

Railway projects expedited by the Finnish Government: 

• Developing the main line between Helsinki and Riihimäki 
• Renovation of the Tampere passenger railway yard 
• Building a double track for the Liminka–Oulu railway section 
• Building a double track for the Luumäki–Lappeenranta railway section 
• West Railway (Espoo–Lohja and Salo–Kupittaa) 

Improving the signal reception on board trains 

VR has actively taken measures to improve the internet connections of trains. VR has invested EUR 5 million in replacing the wireless internet and WiFi devices on long-distance trains. As a result, VR WiFi now offers train passengers an internet connection that is approximately five times faster than before. 

According to recent measurements by the independent research company Omnitele, VR WiFi has good coverage on board the trains. A high-quality Internet connection using the train's WiFi (over 5 Mbit/s) was achieved on 95% of the railway sections. According to the measurements, the internet connection with VR WiFi is better than with the mobile networks of telecommunications companies. There are significant differences in the coverage of WiFi and mobile networks on different railway sections.  

In addition, VR has started laser-cutting the windows of long-distance trains to improve the reception of calls and mobile data on trains. Reception on board the train is impaired by the poor penetration of radio signals (rf) and the fast speed of travel past the base stations. Laser-cutting improves signal penetration to the train. This measure will have a stronger effect on reception than the separate repeaters currently installed on trains. Laser-cutting will replace the telecommunications company's repeaters.