A long-delayed cross-border rail link between Finland and Sweden is expected to finally open this summer, marking a significant milestone in northern European rail connectivity and restoring Finland’s passenger rail link with the wider European network.
Closing a missing link in Northern Europe
The new service will connect the border towns of Tornio in Finland and Haparanda in Sweden, closing a long-standing gap between the two countries’ rail systems. Despite existing rail lines on both sides of the border, passengers have until now been forced to complete the short crossing by bus or car.
Finnish Transport Minister Lulu Ranne said the aim is to launch services “during the summer”, with some local officials suggesting a possible opening shortly before Midsummer in late June. The timeline follows a newly implemented bilateral agreement that simplifies cross-border operations, allowing trains from each country to run into the neighbouring network under their own national permits.
Infrastructure upgrades and operational challenges
The link has been enabled by a €37 million infrastructure project, co-funded by the European Union’s TEN-T programme, which included electrification works on the Kemi–Haparanda line and upgrades to tracks, bridges and rail yards.
A key technical challenge remains the difference in track gauge: Finland uses a 1,524 mm broad gauge inherited from its time under the Russian Empire, while Sweden operates on the European standard gauge of 1,435 mm.
As a result, there will be no through-running trains. Instead, passengers will change trains at Haparanda’s historic early 20th-century station, which has been restored as a cross-border hub. The layout allows travellers to walk directly between Finnish services operated by VR Group and Swedish regional trains run by Norrtåg.
On the Swedish side, services already run between Haparanda and Boden, connecting onward to major routes towards Stockholm and northern Norway. The new link will therefore integrate Finland more closely into the European rail network.
New travel opportunities across the EU
Beyond regional mobility, the connection could enable what is believed to be the longest continuous rail journey within the EU, stretching from northern Finland to southern Portugal. It also opens up new alternatives to air and sea travel, including a roughly 24-hour train journey between Helsinki and Stockholm, replacing the traditional overnight ferry.
The route is expected to carry up to 80,000 passengers in its first year and is seen as strategically important for cross-border commuting, tourism, and supply resilience in northern Scandinavia.
It also marks the first time since 2022 – when services to Saint Petersburg were suspended following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – that Finnish passenger trains will operate internationally.
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30 thoughts on “Finland and Sweden to be linked by rail this summer”