Finnish Main Line (Päärata)

Finnish Main Line (Päärata)

The Finnish Main Line or in Finnish: Päärata or in Swedish: Stambanan is a 810-kilometre (500 mi) long electrified main railway line in Finland between the cities of Helsinki and Oulu. The Main Line was first opened on March 17, 1862, at that point, the 108-kilometre (67 mi) railway line only ran from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna.

The railway serves Helsinki, Riihimäki, Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Parkano, Seinäjoki, Kokkola, Ylivieska and Oulu. The future Suomirata project aims to improve the current Riihimäki–Tampere section by either building additional tracks alongside the existing main line or an entirely new straight line. The goal is to reduce the travel time from Tampere to Helsinki from the current 1 hour 33 minutes to about an hour.

Finnish Main Line Overview

Finnish Main Line Native Name:
Finnish: Päärata
Swedish: Stambanan
Finnish Main Line Owner: Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
Finnish Main Line Line Number: I, K, M, P, R, T, Z
Finnish Main Line Termini:
Helsinki
Oulu
Finnish Main Line Service Route Number: 3, 7
Finnish Main Line Opened: 17 March 1862
Finnish Main Line Line Length: 810 km (500 mi)
Finnish Main Line Number of Tracks:
4 (Helsinki-Järvenpää)
2 (Järvenpää-Lielahti, Peräseinäjoki-Seinäjoki, Kokkola-Ylivieska)
1 (everywhere else)

Finnish Main Line Route Map Legend

Helsinki
Pasila
Tikkurila
to Lahti
Riihimäki
to Lahti
Hämeenlinna
to Turku Harbour
Toijala
Lempäälä
to Jyväskylä
Tampere–Pori
Parkano
to Jyväskylä
Seinäjoki
to Vaasa
Lapua
Kauhava
Härmä (summer only)
Pännäinen
Kokkola
Kannus
Ylivieska
to Iisalmi
Oulainen
Vihanti
Ruukki
Kempele
to Kajaani
Oulu
Kemi

Tervola Tornio-Itäinen
Muurola Ylitornio
Rovaniemi Pello
Misi Kolari
Kemijärvi