Haparanda-Tornio

[MarcVD]

https://twitter.com/jbenedictbrown/status/1329758480241201152

Looks like we will have soon the possibility to go to Helsinki without taking a boat...

 

[Cheshire Scot]

https://twitter.com/jbenedictbrown/status/1329758480241201152

Looks like we will have soon the possibility to go to Helsinki without taking a boat...

Currently possible to reach Helsinki without a ferry via St Petersburg!

But more seriously, I used the Haparanda route several times in the seventies and eighties including my first ever visit to Finland.

That said, in that era, and probably equally so today, the ferry journey from Stockholm to Turku or Helsinki was always very comfortable with excellent facilities and the added bonus of the very scenic sail out for several hours through the Stockholm archipelago.

 

[Gloster]

They still need to sort out who (Norrtåg or VR) will operate across the border. I am not sure if the standard gauge line is still usable all the way to the VR station at Tornio-Itäinen, which I don’t think has much of an intercity service.

I first did the route in 1987 in a Dm7 from Kemi. I later crossed it from Sweden in a Y1 and then walked back, so that having said that I travelled to Finland, I could say I ‘gick tillbaka’, only to be told off for the wrong use of the word, and then be able to tell the teller-off that I had used it correctly. A Swedish speaker may get the joke, which isn’t as funny as it was - if indeed it ever was - now it’s written down.

[Thanks to those who told me how to find the Swedish letters on my iPad. I have - sort of - worked it out now.]

 

[JonasB]

They still need to sort out who (Norrtåg or VR) will operate across the border. I am not sure if the standard gauge line is still usable all the way to the VR station at Tornio-Itäinen, which I don’t think has much of an intercity service.

The solution at the moment is that no trains cross the border. Norrtåg will operate as far as Haparanda and no longer since the border bridge is not electrified. There is a standard gauge track all the way to Torneå Central station which as far as I know is still usable, but there is no passenger trains at the station. There are a few night trains that stop at Torneå East (Itänen) on the eastern outskirts but that stop is broad gauge only. It can be withing walking distance from Haparanda station if you have good shoes and not to much luggage, but the realistic option is probably a bus to Kemi where there are more trains to choose from. Hopefully the buses will be extended from the current bus station to the railway station.

 

[jamesontheroad]

https://twitter.com/jbenedictbrown/status/1329758480241201152

Looks like we will have soon the possibility to go to Helsinki without taking a boat...

I should join the dots here and acknowledge that I am @jbenedictbrown on Twitter. I live in rural Sweden, north-west of Umeå, so I am looking forward to hopefully catching the first train from Umeå to Haparanda on 1 April 2020.

They still need to sort out who (Norrtåg or VR) will operate across the border. I am not sure if the standard gauge line is still usable all the way to the VR station at Tornio-Itäinen, which I don’t think has much of an intercity service.

The solution at the moment is that no trains cross the border. Norrtåg will operate as far as Haparanda and no longer since the border bridge is not electrified. There is a standard gauge track all the way to Torneå Central station which as far as I know is still usable, but there is no passenger trains at the station. There are a few night trains that stop at Torneå East (Itänen) on the eastern outskirts but that stop is broad gauge only. It can be withing walking distance from Haparanda station if you have good shoes and not to much luggage, but the realistic option is probably a bus to Kemi where there are more trains to choose from. Hopefully the buses will be extended from the current bus station to the railway station.

In the recent article on Jarnvagar it was noted that the Finnish government committed in June 2020 to electrify the line from Oulu to Tornio and across the bridge to Haparanda. That will probably take a couple of years, and I remember reading (somewhere) that the box girder bridge across the Torne River is probably the only obstacle. There would not be room, for instance, for a double-decker VR sleeper to ever cross the bridge under the wires. However, the most likely outcome that we should hope for is electrification across the bridge and some kind of connecting service operated by VR from Haparanda to Oulu. The station at Haparanda is quite beautiful, and it is basically ready to go with Finnish tracks on one platform and Swedish tracks on the other. If VR had a DMU available right now it could start almost tomorrow, but sadly that seems very unlikely.

 

[JonasB]

I live in rural Sweden, north-west of Umeå, so I am looking forward to hopefully catching the first train from Umeå to Haparanda on 1 April 2020.

If you do, I hope you'll share some photos of the trip!

 

[jamesontheroad]

If you do, I hope you'll share some photos of the trip!

I shall! I tend to make very long tweet threads of my European railway journeys...

Still need to scope it out, but current plan is Umeå (or more likely Tvärålund) to Haparanda and Kemi on 1 April; Rovaniemi for the day on 2 April, then VR night train to Helsinki for the remainder of the Easter weekend. Then north via a route yet tbc, and home via the Vaasa-Umeå ferry. The new Aurora Botnia launches the following month, May, which I will also try to catch a ride on before the summer.

 

[rf_ioliver]

The solution at the moment is that no trains cross the border. Norrtåg will operate as far as Haparanda and no longer since the border bridge is not electrified. There is a standard gauge track all the way to Torneå Central station which as far as I know is still usable, but there is no passenger trains at the station. There are a few night trains that stop at Torneå East (Itänen) on the eastern outskirts but that stop is broad gauge only. It can be withing walking distance from Haparanda station if you have good shoes and not to much luggage, but the realistic option is probably a bus to Kemi where there are more trains to choose from. Hopefully the buses will be extended from the current bus station to the railway station.

I think only the Finnish gauge track is in operation and Torneå Itäinen isn't the most endowed with passenger facilities: http://vaunut.org/kuva/143123?liikp1=2737

It would make be very nice it this train connected with a train to Kemi/Oulu (at least) but then again it would have to be operated by VR who have a monopoly on passenger services for quite a few more years. Connections at Tornio Itäinen for the night trains would only be one per day (in each direction) to Kolari or Helsinki - and that's not running daily at the moment.

Ian

 

[JonasB]

I shall! I tend to make very long tweet threads of my European railway journeys...

Still need to scope it out, but current plan is Umeå (or more likely Tvärålund) to Haparanda and Kemi on 1 April; Rovaniemi for the day on 2 April, then VR night train to Helsinki for the remainder of the Easter weekend. Then north via a route yet tbc, and home via the Vaasa-Umeå ferry. The new Aurora Botnia launches the following month, May, which I will also try to catch a ride on before the summer.

Sounds great! I'll make sure to follow your trip, and I hope there won't be any restrictions on crossing the border by then! And I couldn't help thinking that sometimes new infrastructure is not needed when I read your tweet about the bus to Haparanda. There will soon be a direct train that will cut the travel time from 7 to 5 hours. Still, Norrbotniabanan will cut the travel time even more.

I think only the Finnish gauge track is in operation and Torneå Itäinen isn't the most endowed with passenger facilities: http://vaunut.org/kuva/143123?liikp1=2737

True it's very basic, but there is a bit of protection from the weather at least: https://goo.gl/maps/sY1v5nP9AaVKq9ij6

It would make be very nice it this train connected with a train to Kemi/Oulu (at least) but then again it would have to be operated by VR who have a monopoly on passenger services for quite a few more years.

That would be great. If I can dream a bit I would love to see the standard gauge extended to Kemi and direct trains from Luleå to Kemi. But I don't think that is realistic at the moment, so I'm hoping for a direct coach to Kemi that connects to the train in Haparanda.

 

[bussikuski179]

They still need to sort out who (Norrtåg or VR) will operate across the border. I am not sure if the standard gauge line is still usable all the way to the VR station at Tornio-Itäinen, which I don’t think has much of an intercity service.

I first did the route in 1987 in a Dm7 from Kemi. I later crossed it from Sweden in a Y1 and then walked back, so that having said that I travelled to Finland, I could say I ‘gick tillbaka’, only to be told off for the wrong use of the word, and then be able to tell the teller-off that I had used it correctly. A Swedish speaker may get the joke, which isn’t as funny as it was - if indeed it ever was - now it’s written down.

[Thanks to those who told me how to find the Swedish letters on my iPad. I have - sort of - worked it out now.]

Yep Tornio-Itäinen gets 2 or so trains a day, sleepers Helsinki-Kolari-Helsinki.

I should join the dots here and acknowledge that I am @jbenedictbrown on Twitter. I live in rural Sweden, north-west of Umeå, so I am looking forward to hopefully catching the first train from Umeå to Haparanda on 1 April 2020.




In the recent article on Jarnvagar it was noted that the Finnish government committed in June 2020 to electrify the line from Oulu to Tornio and across the bridge to Haparanda. That will probably take a couple of years, and I remember reading (somewhere) that the box girder bridge across the Torne River is probably the only obstacle. There would not be room, for instance, for a double-decker VR sleeper to ever cross the bridge under the wires. However, the most likely outcome that we should hope for is electrification across the bridge and some kind of connecting service operated by VR from Haparanda to Oulu. The station at Haparanda is quite beautiful, and it is basically ready to go with Finnish tracks on one platform and Swedish tracks on the other. If VR had a DMU available right now it could start almost tomorrow, but sadly that seems very unlikely.

VR could do with more DMUs or even better, bimodes anyway. Bimodes especially because, aside from Oulu-Kemi, there’s no passenger diesel under the wires, so bimodes could connect places like Hanko and Savonlinna to Helsinki directly.

 

[rf_ioliver]

That would be great. If I can dream a bit I would love to see the standard gauge extended to Kemi and direct trains from Luleå to Kemi. But I don't think that is realistic at the moment, so I'm hoping for a direct coach to Kemi that connects to the train in Haparanda.

Not realistic at all - it would require standard gauge track in Finland for a very limited service. There's already Finnish gauge to Haparanda and services will probably work as they have in the past with connecting trains there.

VR also have a monopoly on passenger services until 2025/6 (*check) and as for a Swedish service running in Finland...it took 30+ years for Ikea to be allowed to come here

Yep Tornio-Itäinen gets 2 or so trains a day, sleepers Helsinki-Kolari-Helsinki.


VR could do with more DMUs or even better, bimodes anyway. Bimodes especially because, aside from Oulu-Kemi, there’s no passenger diesel under the wires, so bimodes could connect places like Hanko and Savonlinna to Helsinki directly.

No chance. VR's last DMU was the DM12 - there were options for an extension to that fleet but they were never taken up. Bi-modes would be useful here, eg: Savonlinna-Helsinki, but even that would probably only be a couple of trains a day at most with the usual Parikkala-Savonlinna services. Bi-modes would have been good for the Vaasa-Jyväskylä-Pieksämäki-Savonlinna/Parikkala/Joensuu, but there's little demand and the electrified sections have reasonable InterCity services with connections. Also Huuhtokoski-Savonlinna is now closed.

The move is for electrification, as has happened already to Kemijärvi, Vaasa, Jyväskylä-Äänekoski and now Turku-Uusikaupunki is being wired. I guess next will be Hanko-Hyvinkää, but most of these are for freight and the mainly electric fleet of locomotives and if the latter is electrified then the DM12s on the Karjaa-Hanko route will be replaced by something (Spare Sm2s probably?), and even then I can't see a Hanko-Helsinki IC service running again

 

[JonasB]

Not realistic at all - it would require standard gauge track in Finland for a very limited service.

Probably not, but one can always dream?

(Although the standard gauge track would also benefit freight traffic. What has been discussed though is a standard gauge track from Haparanda to the steel plant in Röyttä. That would only be a few km of track but it would give the steel plant direct access to the European standard gauge network.)

 

[jamesontheroad]

Just a little update on my own situation. I still plan to ride one of the first trains along the new stretch of track on 1 April.

The border with Finland remains closed to me, so my plans of a circular trip, clockwise around the Gulf of Bothnia from Umeå to Luleå, Haparanda, Tornia, Kemi, (Rovaniemi) and then back via the Vaasa-Umeå ferry are cancelled.

Region Västerbotten (where I live) and Region Norrbotten (where Luleå and Haparanda are) have different recommendations about necessary and unnecessary travel. Sweden's management of the COVID situation is (klaxon: personal opinion follows) largely dysfunctional at a national level, so you have to pay close attention to what each region is "recommending".

Riding a new train on its first day of service is by no means "necessary" but it is possible for me to minimise the risk of infection by adjusting the trip. I will likely drive myself to Luleå on 31 March, stay overnight and catch the first train (Norrtåg 7182) from Luleå 08.00 to Haparanda 09.51 on 1 April. This is instead of catching the first Umeå - Haparanda train, which will be busier and would involve a longer period of time in the company of my (often maskless) fellow Swedes.

The actual first first passenger train on the new stretch will be the earlier Norrtåg 7181 from Haparanda 05.54 to Luleå 07.49 on 1 April. The rolling stock appears to travel empty to Haparanda.

That will give me a couple of hours in Haparnada, perhaps even lunch at Ikea (big spender) before heading back to Boden and then Luleå late morning.

I will tweet all this as I go, so find me on Twitter @jbenedictbrown.

Additionally - on YouTube - Linus of Svenska Tågkanalen is now a student in Umeå, so will no doubt publish some video of the new service. Jeff of Jeffs Tåg Tripp is also a Norrlander, so you might find video there as well.

 

[littledude]

Somewhat related (of sorts)...

Does anyone know if any Finnish wagons get gauge changed at Haparanda for transit from broad gauge Finland to standard gauge Sweden? A friend of mine has seen Finnish tank wagons in Sweden, usually alone in a mixed freight, but we could not decide whether this wagon was ‘stuck’ on the standard gauge network after the Finland to Germany ferry finished, or whether there is potential for, or even a regular flow of, traffic via border crossing with a change of vehicle gauge?

Many thanks,
Tom

 

[JonasB]

Somewhat related (of sorts)...

Does anyone know if any Finnish wagons get gauge changed at Haparanda for transit from broad gauge Finland to standard gauge Sweden? A friend of mine has seen Finnish tank wagons in Sweden, usually alone in a mixed freight, but we could not decide whether this wagon was ‘stuck’ on the standard gauge network after the Finland to Germany ferry finished, or whether there is potential for, or even a regular flow of, traffic via border crossing with a change of vehicle gauge?

When has he seen them? There was a standard gauge railway ferry from Stockholm to Finland as well until around 10 years ago. A gauge changer has been tried in Haparanda or Torneå but I don't know how it worked out. But I think most freight just gets "reloaded" in Haparanda. There is a "reloading shed" with both standard gauge and broad gauge tracks visible on Google street view: https://goo.gl/maps/EHzsXSU4t8i8pC1o6

 

[littledude]

It was seen last summer, a Finnish tank wagon, in the consist of a mixed freight arriving into Hallsberg from the north.

There’s certainly a good chance it did come over the border, I was just wondering if anyone can say for sure whether there’s an active facility for allowing change of gauge of freight wagons? There’s a large fleet of variable gauge, UIC compliant wagons in Finland, which presumably used to be seen far more commonly on standard gauge metals prior to the closure of the ferry connections.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[rf_ioliver]

Dual gauge on both sides, but I think only Finnish stock actually crosses the border these days and I believe the gauge changer is out of use or very rarely in use.
At the moment freight traffic is down due to the current COVID situation. I can't see anything crossing the border on te juliadata.fi and not much being mentioned on the Finnish discussion forums.

Interesting side note: it seems that the current Finnish government has decided to electrify the route from Kemi to Haparanda (and maybe the Röyttä branch too?)

 

[bussikuski179]

Hmm... maybe some services from Oulu/Kemi to Haparanda then? It would be nice to have some cross-border passenger trains but it’s very unlikely.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Interesting side note: it seems that the current Finnish government has decided to electrify the route from Kemi to Haparanda (and maybe the Röyttä branch too?)

Great news if it's finally happening. Do you have a link?

Hmm... maybe some services from Oulu/Kemi to Haparanda then? It would be nice to have some cross-border passenger trains but it’s very unlikely.

I had some Twitter exchanges with a VR route planner, and he publicly stated that the most desirable / likely option is a cross-border passenger train from Oulu to Haparanda. The (beautiful, very grand) station at Haparanda has Finnish gauge tracks on the north side of the island platform and European gauge on the south side. A local youth club has been kicked out and the indoor spaces have been renovated and prepared for service, so it is ready and waiting for a Finnish service to cross the border.

 

[JonasB]

Great news if it's finally happening. Do you have a link?

Here is the source, the decision in the Finnish parliament (in Swedish): https://www.eduskunta.fi/SV/vaski/TalousarvioMietinto/Sidor/FiUB_13+2020.aspx#PaatosOsa

Here is a slightly easier to read summary from Norrtåg: https://norrtagab.se/2020/07/02/tagtrafik-lulea-uleaborg-snart-verklighet/

I had some Twitter exchanges with a VR route planner, and he publicly stated that the most desirable / likely option is a cross-border passenger train from Oulu to Haparanda.

Until then, I hope there will at least be a bus service from Haparanda station to e.g. Kemi.

 

[Gloster]

Here is the source, the decision in the Finnish parliament (in Swedish): https://www.eduskunta.fi/SV/vaski/TalousarvioMietinto/Sidor/FiUB_13+2020.aspx#PaatosOsa

Here is a slightly easier to read summary from Norrtåg: https://norrtagab.se/2020/07/02/tagtrafik-lulea-uleaborg-snart-verklighet/


Until then, I hope there will at least be a bus service from Haparanda station to e.g. Kemi.

The Finns want to go ahead with electrification to the border, but are the Swedes going to pay for the short distance from the middle of the bridge over the Torne å to Haparanda station? Without that, it is pointless, but do the Swedes consider that the work is justifiable from their point of view?

 

[JonasB]

The Finns want to go ahead with electrification to the border, but are the Swedes going to pay for the short distance from the middle of the bridge over the Torne å to Haparanda station? Without that, it is pointless, but do the Swedes consider that the work is justifiable from their point of view?

The bridge will need to be solved in some way, but if Finland wants to electrify I'm sure Sweden will cooperate to make sure there is no gap.

Hopefully it will not be like Östersund-Trondheim where Sweden electrified to the border a couple of years ago to meet up with a planned Norwegian electrification that still hasn't taken place…

 

[bussikuski179]

I had some Twitter exchanges with a VR route planner, and he publicly stated that the most desirable / likely option is a cross-border passenger train from Oulu to Haparanda. The (beautiful, very grand) station at Haparanda has Finnish gauge tracks on the north side of the island platform and European gauge on the south side. A local youth club has been kicked out and the indoor spaces have been renovated and prepared for service, so it is ready and waiting for a Finnish service to cross the border.

The only problem would be that there isn’t really any train that could do the service. Most of the Dm12s are in use elsewhere, loco hauled... well there aren’t really usable coaches since the blue ones are mostly gone, Ex’s need a generator car for diesel and you wouldn’t use doubledeckers since it really isn’t guaranteed to be popular. As for electric trains, I guess you could use an Sm2 since they’re being replaced in the next few years.

 

[jamesontheroad]

The only problem would be that there isn’t really any train that could do the service. Most of the Dm12s are in use elsewhere, loco hauled... well there aren’t really usable coaches since the blue ones are mostly gone, Ex’s need a generator car for diesel and you wouldn’t use doubledeckers since it really isn’t guaranteed to be popular. As for electric trains, I guess you could use an Sm2 since they’re being replaced in the next few years.

The Dm12 are, indeed, all accounted for elsewhere. Assuming the line is going to be wired the Sm2 would be a good start.

I don't know if double-decker VR carriages could ever reach Haparanda. The bridge (now 100 years old) is of a box girder construction, and once wired the height clearance will be even tighter.

For those who don't know much about the area, there are lots of photos and background info on the bridge here: https://jvgfoto.se/banor/haparandabanan/karungi-haparanda-tornea/tornealven/

And there are photos of the beautiful old station in Haparanda here: https://jvgfoto.se/banor/haparandabanan/karungi-haparanda-tornea/haparanda-hp/

The Swedish and Finnish tracks are nested within each other across the bridge as far as the old Tornio (Torneå in Swedish) station. https://jvgfoto.se/banor/haparandabanan/karungi-haparanda-tornea/tornea-tor/

However VR night trains to/from Kolari currently bypass the station Tornio, so they stop at a newer halt called Tornio-Itainen.

 

[rf_ioliver]

The bridge will need to be solved in some way, but if Finland wants to electrify I'm sure Sweden will cooperate to make sure there is no gap.

Hopefully it will not be like Östersund-Trondheim where Sweden electrified to the border a couple of years ago to meet up with a planned Norwegian electrification that still hasn't taken place…

The Sr3's could do if the line is electrified, but not the bridge. Though sending an Sr3 + coaches would be overkill admittedly

 

[melon68]

My 2 best friends and I did an InterRail trip from Sweden to Finland on the overland route in the 80s, we caught the Swedish overnight train from the middle of the country to Haparanda and got lost trying to cross the river on foot to Finland after being dropped off there. Eventually we managed to hitch to Kemi and from there catch the overnight train to Helsinki, it was quite an adventure!

 

[jamesontheroad]

My 2 best friends and I did an InterRail trip from Sweden to Finland on the overland route in the 80s, we caught the Swedish overnight train from the middle of the country to Haparanda and got lost trying to cross the river on foot to Finland after being dropped off there. Eventually we managed to hitch to Kemi and from there catch the overnight train to Helsinki, it was quite an adventure!

This reminds me that Jan Bergsten wrote a book (in Swedish) called Tornedalens Järnvägar, which you can buy for about £10-£15 plus shipping. Yes, it's in Swedish, but it's very well illustrated. I bought my copy at the old Vitvattnet station where you can rent a pedal-powered draisine to explore the old Morjärv-Haparanda line, along which @melon68 and pals would have travelled in the eighties.

(The new line follows the old branch south from Morjärv to Kalix, and then a new right of way parallel to the E4 to Haparanda.)

Here are reindeer who we encountered on last summer's draisine trip.

 

[Adlington]

We're getting there (but slowly....)

There is something that marks Finland and Sweden out as unusual in Europe: They are neighbouring countries that do not have a working passenger train connection.

But this could change, if the two nations decide to finance works including track electrification and the renewal of a railway bridge across the Tornio river.

One big step in the process will take place on 1 April, when the station in the Swedish border town of Haparanda reopens for passenger trains after a 29-year break. The reopened station will offer connections to long-distance trains to the south.

Source

 

[bussikuski179]

The Sr3's could do if the line is electrified, but not the bridge. Though sending an Sr3 + coaches would be overkill admittedly

Well... it’s a brand new loco which IMO should be put on the big IC lines, hell, you don’t even see them in places like Kuopio! I think that if the line were to be electrified it should be Sr1s, maybe with a config such as Sr1+Ex+Ex+Rx+Expt, like the sets which run the ”IC” services between Oulu and Rovaniemi. Yeah it’s a short enough route to not need a restaurant car but it’s either that or an Edfs since Rx’s also have a conductor’s compartment.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Some photos of today’s trip Luleå-Haparanda. Big festivities at Kalix, where not only a new train service but also an entirely new station opened today. Haparanda station has been beautifully restored and is ready and waiting for cross-border trains to meet either side of the waiting room.

The entire threaded tweet of my trip starts yesterday here: https://twitter.com/jbenedictbrown/status/1377246061098590211?s=21