New timetable aims to improve Finland-Sweden train links

The new Oulu-Tornio-Haparanda train service has drawn criticism over its schedules, but connections are expected to improve from December 13, Yle reports. The service has received praise as well as complaints, and passenger numbers remain modest.

Some travellers from Oulu say the current timetable does not allow them to make a day trip without staying overnight in Tornio or Haparanda, said Sampo Kangastalo, Tornio’s director of development.

VR’s director of the new service, Juho Hannukainen, said schedules are affected by connections in Oulu to other parts of Finland and the availability of trains, which are also used on other routes in northern Finland. Connections from Haparanda to Luleå have also shaped the timetable. Sweden’s Norrtåg planned its schedules before it was certain that Finnish trains would reach Haparanda, so the timetables could not be fully coordinated.

Norrtåg has improved transfers for some weekend services in September and October. From December 13, when Finland and Sweden move to new timetables for 2027, the aim is to provide a workable transfer for every train at Haparanda in both directions.

VR ticket data show 1,700 journeys on the Oulu-Haparanda route in both August and September. Tornio’s new central stop recorded 1,500 journeys in September, up from 1,400 in August. Hannukainen said passenger numbers are still developing and vary considerably between departures and dates.

The service is publicly funded because ticket revenue alone is not enough to cover operating costs. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, commissioned the service. Traficom lawyer Meeri Niinisalo said from the outset that the main challenges would be coordinating timetables with onward connections in Sweden and providing food and drink services on board.

VR is examining what would be needed to introduce food and drink sales, including how Finnish and Swedish rules on food, alcohol sales and taxation could be reconciled with the authorities in both countries. The service has also experienced delays. Hannukainen attributed them to track work between Oulu and Kemi, where speed limits are more extensive than anticipated when the timetable was drawn up.

Kangastalo said he was pleased that years of work had led to passenger trains running between Finland and Sweden, while noting that improvements are still needed, including better signs for Tornio railway station. A cooperation group involving Tornio, the Sea Lapland Development Centre, Traficom and the City of Oulu is due to meet for the first time in mid-November to review official passenger figures. Kangastalo said it would take time for people to find and learn to use the connection.