High-speed rail in Finland
Although Finland has no dedicated high-speed rail lines, sections of its rail network are capable of running speeds of up to. The Finnish national railway company VR operates tilting Alstom Pendolino trains. The trains reach their maximum speed of in regular operation on a route between Kerava and Lahti. This portion of track was opened in 2006. The trains can run at on a longer route between Helsinki and Seinäjoki and peak at that speed between Helsinki and Turku. The main railway line between Helsinki and Oulu has been upgraded between Seinäjoki and Oulu to allow for trains to run at speeds between and. Other parts of the Finnish railway network are limited to lower speed.
A new service called Allegro started between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, Russia, in December 2010 with a journey time of 3½ hours. It utilized four trains, with a top speed of which were a Pendolino model, supporting both Finnish and Russian standards. However the service was discontinued in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Between 2007 and 2010 the Russian line from the Finnish border to Saint Petersburg was electrified and improved to allow higher running speeds. The Finnish line was also upgraded where needed, mostly to.
Current proposals
There are proposals for high speed rail links between Helsinki and other major Finnish cities, with the Green League proposing a €10 billion investment into the country's rail infrastructure in 2018. After the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election, new Prime Minister of Finland Antti Rinne's government confirmed its commitment to advancing the three planned Finnish high-speed rail lines; the ELSA-rata, a Helsinki-Tampere line, and a link from Helsinki to Eastern Finland.Sanna Marin, Minister of Transport and Communications, stated in July 2019 that "we must first plan and secure the funding, before we can start building. The three high-speed links – the westbound, northbound and eastbound links – will cost a total of 10 billion euros to build. Planning the projects alone will cost roughly 350 million euros. This isn't a small amount given that roughly one billion euros is allocated for transport projects every electoral term."
In September 2019, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment gave authorisation to the Ministry of Transport and Communications to establish the Turku One Hour Train Project Company to oversee the Helsinki–Turku high-speed rail line, and the Suomirata Project Company, which will manage development of the new Riihimäki–Tampere line. Along with this announcement, Marin confirmed the lines would most likely not be operational until the 2030s at earliest.
Helsinki–Turku
The only rail link between Helsinki and Turku is the Rantarata railway line, with journey times of around two hours. The first examination of a more direct rail link between the two cities Espoo and Salo took place in 1979.The current plans for the new railway line involve the construction of of track between Espoo and Salo with maximum running speeds of per hour, allowing for a journey time of an hour between Helsinki and Turku compared to the current two hours; expecting to add a further 1.6 million annual passenger rail trips a year. In 2017, the Finnish government provided €10 million in funding towards the planning and construction of the line, with half of this being eligible for European Union TEN-T funding.
As of October 2018 the line is scheduled for completion by 2031.
The proposal has been taken foreward by the Orpo cabinet. As of autumm 2025 the government and municipalities alond the route have agreed to a joint funding model.
Helsinki–Airport–Tampere
The Lentorata has been included in the Finnish Transport Agency's plans since 2010. Following the opening of the Ring Rail Line in 2015, Helsinki Airport gained its first railway connection through the Helsinki commuter rail network. However, a need has also been identified for a rail link to long distance traffic, with support from Finavia, the mayors of Helsinki and Tampere and the chief executive of the state-owned national rail company VR Group.In 2019, Helsinki Times reported that a new rail connection is under consideration with an expected travel time of one hour from Helsinki to Tampere via the airport, using the new airport line and either an upgraded Riihimäki–Tampere railway or brand new track, would cost a total of €5.5 billion. This new line is expected to generate a further 6.5 million rail trips annually.