Finland extends European gauge rail plans to Misi for defence

Finland plans to extend preparations for a European standard gauge railway from the Swedish border to the small village of Misi, Yle reports. Transport and Communications Minister Lulu Ranne says the project is primarily intended to improve military mobility and strengthen Finland’s defence.

The government has allocated a total of 107 million euros for the Rail Nordica project, which would extend planning from the western border to Oulu, Rovaniemi and Misi.

The proposed railway would use the European standard gauge of 1,435 millimetres and run from the Swedish border into northern Finland. The government has previously authorised 20 million euros for planning the section from Haparanda to the ports of Kemi and Tornio. The authorisation was later increased by 41 million euros, and the government is proposing a further 46 million euros in next year’s budget.

These authorisations do not represent decisions on actual funding. The state budget has allocated three million euros for planning this year, while the government has proposed a further 500,000 euros for next year.

Ranne said Misi was chosen as the planned terminus for defensive reasons, at the request of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Ministry of Defence.

Misi is a small village between Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi. It has a Defence Forces warehouse for logistics and material storage and is closely connected to the nearby Rovajärvi military exercise area, described as one of the largest such areas in Europe.

Heikki Autto, a member of parliament from Lapland and chair of the parliamentary Defence Committee, said Misi was important for peacetime military exercises. Local resident and village association chair Sanna Kurkinen said villagers were accustomed to seeing tanks in the area.

According to Ranne, bottlenecks in military transport have become clear during Nato exercises. American troops, for example, have travelled overland from Norwegian ports to Rovajärvi.

The 107 million euros would cover planning only. Building the European gauge railway would cost billions, and Finland is seeking hundreds of millions of euros from the European Union’s military mobility funding. The funding programme has been increased tenfold compared with the previous period, and a new funding period will open next year.

Ranne said the project’s cross-border nature could give it better funding opportunities than projects financed solely at national level. The railway could also serve civilian needs, including mining and other industries.

Planning is expected to take six to ten years and will include a general plan, environmental impact assessments and railway plans. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency is responsible for planning and implementation, and planning for the Haparanda to Kemi section has already begun.

If everything proceeds smoothly, Ranne said construction could begin towards the end of the 2030s.