Finnish Trains (+ Estonain/Latvian)

Here are some photos of Finnish trains. Although Finland does not have large inhabitants, trains have developed well based on financial aid from the government. The temperature reaches -40 degrees cencius in Lapland, trains run almost punctually. Rolling stocks are also specially designed to overcome the hard winter.

VR (National Railway)

Trains of VR are clean and comfortable. Most of the tolling stocks are designed specially for Finland. The newest locomotive Sr2 or Pendolino have its origin in Switzerland or Italy, but they have special features such as additional heaters or bogies for 1524mm-width-tracks.
* Click a photo to see the detail.
Pendolino S220 (Sm3)EMU Sm1EMU Sm2EMU Sm2 Refurblished
Pendolino S220 (Sm3) EMU Sm1 EMU Sm2 EMU Sm2 Refurblished
Pendolino "S220" is a new express train designed in Italy. It has 220km/h max. speed and tilting mechanism. Now it runs not only between Helsinki and Tampere, its service reached Oulu, Kuopio and Joensuu. However, its tilting mechanism is not fully used in conventional lines. Sm1 is the oldest EMU in Finland. It is designed and manufactured in Finland, and quite tough against low temperatures and snowfalls. Now every Sm1 stock is refurblished and colored in red and white. Sm2 is the improved series of Sm1. It has alminum body and air suspension bogies, but can be merged with Sm1. The refurblishment of Sm2 is going on.
EMU Sm4VR EL Sr1VR EL sr2 (Lok 2000)VR DL (Dv12 etc.)
EMU Sm4 VR EL Sr1 VR EL sr2 (Lok 2000) VR DL (Dv12 etc.)
Sm4 is designed by Fiat, so some similarities can be found with Italian trains. It has low-floor room between two boggies, which enables so-called "barrier free". Its max. speed is 160km/h. Sr1 is the first electric locomotive in Finland. It was manufactured in Soviet Union, but electric equipments are provided from Finland. Originally its max. speed was 120km/h, but some of them were renovated to run 160km/h. Sr2 is one of the variation of Lok2000 series, designed in Switzerland. It acheves stable performance, and its max. speed is 230km/h. Since most main lines are electrificated, the number of diesel locomotives is continuously decreasing. Heavy DLs such as Dr16 are only used in Lapland and the line from Kuopoi - Oulu. Switchers such as Dv16 can be seen in every terminal.
Passengers Coaches (in general) Express Coaches IC 客車 (普通車・食堂車)IC2 Coaches
Passengers Coaches (in general) Express Coaches IC 客車 (普通車・食堂車) IC2 Coaches
The blue Express type coach has been used for 40 years. It has large and comfortable seats and non-automatic doors. Type IC is improved type introduced from 1990s. It is colored in white and red. it is used for IC services with IC2. The double-decker IC2 is growing among coaches. Thanks to large standard of maximum size of Finnish train, it has quite an expansive interior.
Cargo for Cars Regional Coach (Eil/EilF) Express to RussiaVR DMU Dm12
Cargo for Cars Regional Coach (Eil/EilF) Express to Russia VR DMU Dm12
Since the gauge of Finnish railways is the same as that of Russian, direct services run from Helsinki to Ct. Petersburg or Moscow. Although there are more freight trains than passengers trains, it is an important route to connect Russia to Europe. Nowadays most lines are electricified, and diesel locomotives are used in unelectricified lines since there are enough numbers of DLs. However, from 2006 Dm12 has started its operation from Tampere to Pieksämäki. Dm12 was manufactured by Skoda in Czech.
VR DMU Dm7
VR DMU Dm7
Since most of Finnish lines were not electricified before 80s, diesel motorcars played a great roll in local transports. Dm7, characterized with its round cabin, is the most typical DMU in that ages. Now Dm7 has retired, but occasionally runs in a railway event.

Helsinki City Transport (HKL)

Helsinki city transport is mainly operated by HKL. Although some buses have non-HKL drivers and cars, HKL takes charges of the dicision of routes and fares.
* Click a photo to see the detail.
Tram in HelsinkiTram 31 (Nr2)Tram type 201 (Low-floor)Tram type 151 (Mannheim)
Tram in Helsinki Tram 31 (Nr2) Tram type 201 (Low-floor) Tram type 151 (Mannheim)
Most of the tram lines in Helsinki was opened before WW2. Tram is the most popular option to move around in the city center. Recently, new low-floor vehicles have introduced from AdTrantz.
Helsinki MetroMetro EMU 100Metro EMU 200
Helsinki Metro Metro EMU 100 Metro EMU 200
Helsinki has one metro line. It is mainly used for western suburban transport, but also extension to Espoo is under comtemplation. Two types of rolling stocks are used in 2006: type 100 and 200.

Trains in Baltic Contries (Estonia and Latvia)


* Click a photo to see the detail.
Estonian Trains in TallinnLatvian Trains in RigaTram in Riga
Estonian Trains in Tallinn Latvian Trains in Riga Tram in Riga
Tallinn in Estonia is easy to reach from Helsinki -- 2 hours by boat. Series Er2 are used in regional services.

References