Finland breaks from Russian legacy with railway overhaul
The Finnish Minister of Transport, Lulu Ranne, announced plans to convert all railway routes in Finland to the European track gauge. This move aims to break away from the Russian legacy and strengthen cooperation with Nordic countries.
What do you need to know?
- Finnish Minister of Transport Lulu Ranne emphasized the need to convert all railway routes in Finland to the European track gauge to distance themselves from the Russian legacy.
- The Rail Nordica project plans to build a new railway line connecting Finland with Sweden, ensuring supply security and military mobility.
- The cost of investment in Rail Nordica is estimated to be in the billions of euros, and the Finnish government has already allocated 21 million USD for preliminary planning.
Why is Finland changing the track gauge?
During a conference in Helsinki, Lulu Ranne stressed that Finland cannot continue to rely on the Russian legacy. "Do we want to remain tied to Russia forever? We do not," she declared.
Currently, cross-border railway movement is impossible because Finland's track gauge (60 inches), dating back to the 19th century when Finland was part of the Russian Empire, is about 3.5 inches wider than the European gauge (56.5 inches) and similar to the Russian gauge (59.8 inches).
What are the plans for Rail Nordica?
The Rail Nordica project involves creating a new railway line in northern Finland. It will span the Gulf of Bothnia, connecting cities such as Oulu, Rovaniemi, and the port in Kemi with Sweden's Haparanda across the Torne River border. The project will then proceed to the Kiruna mining center and the Norwegian port in Narvik. As authorities emphasized, the investment is significant for the Finnish armed forces and NATO. Lapland, near Rovaniemi, has a military base and training ground.
During the Helsinki meeting, the transport ministers of the Nordic countries issued a joint statement, highlighting that "military mobility, civil readiness, and supply security are of great importance in developing a joint strategy on transport systems."
What are the challenges associated with the reconstruction?
According to Minister Ranne, building a railway line to European standards and integrating it into the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) program should not be limited only to northern Finland. It should also include the southern part of the country, especially since Rail Baltica (a high-speed rail line from Estonian Tallinn via Riga to the Polish border) is being developed according to European standards.
An analysis prepared by the transport ministry in 2023 indicates that converting all railway lines in Finland to the European track gauge (56.5 inches) would cause "more harm than benefit " and be too expensive.
The total length of Finland's railway network is almost 3,728 miles, over half of which is electrified.
