Finland shifts tracks: Breaking ties with Russian rail legacy
The Finnish Minister of Transport, Lulu Ranne, has announced a plan to convert all railway routes in Finland to the European track gauge. This initiative is seen as a step towards moving away from Russian influence and strengthening cooperation with Nordic countries.
What do you need to know?
- Finnish Minister of Transport, Lulu Ranne, emphasised the necessity of converting all railway routes in Finland to the European track gauge to break away from Russian influence.
- The Rail Nordica project envisions the construction of a new railway line connecting Finland with Sweden, aimed at ensuring supply security and improving military mobility.
- The cost of investment in Rail Nordica is estimated to be in the billions of euros, with the Finnish government having already allocated €2O million (approximately £17 million) for preliminary planning.
Why is Finland changing the track gauge?
During a conference in Helsinki, Finnish Minister of Transport, Lulu Ranne, stressed that Finland cannot continue to use the historical Russian track gauge. "Do we want to remain linked to Russia forever? We do not," she stated.
Currently, cross-border railway movement is not feasible because the Finnish track gauge, measuring approximately 1.52 metres, dates back to the 19th century when Finland was part of the Russian Empire. This is approximately 9 centimetres wider than the European gauge (around 1.43 metres) and is similar to the Russian gauge (approximately 1.52 metres).
What are the plans for Rail Nordica?
The Rail Nordica project involves constructing a new railway line in northern Finland. It is set to cross the Gulf of Bothnia, linking Finnish cities such as Oulu, Rovaniemi, and the port in Kemi with Swedish Haparanda over the Torne River border, continuing to the mining centre in Kiruna and ultimately to the Norwegian port in Narvik. Authorities emphasise that the investment is significant for Finnish armed forces and NATO. In Lapland, near Rovaniemi, there is a military base and a training ground.
During the Helsinki meeting, transport ministers from the Nordic countries issued a joint statement emphasizing that military mobility, civil preparedness, and supply security play a crucial role in shaping a coordinated approach to transport system development.
What are the challenges associated with the reconstruction?
According to Minister Ranne, constructing a railway line to European standards and integrating it into the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme should not be limited to northern Finland, but should also include the southern part of the country. This is particularly important as - she pointed out - in the Baltic countries, Rail Baltica (a high-speed rail line from Tallinn in Estonia via Riga to the Polish border) is being developed according to European standards.
A 2023 analysis prepared by the transport ministry indicates that converting all railway lines in Finland to the European track gauge (around 1.43 metres) would bring "more harm than benefit," and the costs of the endeavour would be "too large."
The total length of the railway network in Finland is nearly 6,000 kilometres, more than half of which is electrified.
