A truly exceptional night train through Finland

For three weeks, Jonathan and François traveled through Sweden, Norway, and Finland with Interrail: almost entirely by rail, sometimes by water, and rarely by bus. We also traveled on night trains—one of which particularly impressed us: the night train from Helsinki to Kolari. It is a train that confidently and reliably connects the south with the north of this vast country—a train with an important mission.

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Start in Helsinki

Before taking the night train to northern Finland, we had a few days to explore the city of Helsinki. At first, Helsinki seemed a little rough and unpolished to us. But when we looked back at Helsinki from the island of Suomenlinna in the evening, the city on the wild archipelago coast showed itself from a completely different side.

Helsinki feels authentic, confident, and open. And never intrusive. It is the people who make the city so special. We got to know Finns who are reserved, but at the same time very warm, friendly, and helpful. And we became acquainted with the dry, sometimes slightly dark Finnish humor, which is really good for you. The extremely clean city has its rough edges, but also a kind of individuality and self-confidence that we began to like. That's why it's not easy to say goodbye.

The adventure begins

With these intense impressions, we stand on the platform of Helsingin Päärautatieasema, Helsinki's main train station, and board our night train heading north. It is shortly before 8 p.m. and we quickly find our compartment with its own toilet and shower. The door to the compartment is open, and the key card is in the lock. We haven't encountered any accompanying staff yet. Since everything is very self-explanatory, we haven't missed them so far.

We don't skimp on night train travel so that we can really enjoy the journey. The trip costs just €123.80 for two people. This is in a sleeper car with its own toilet and shower. An amazingly low price. The Interrail discount is so small that it's not even worth using an Interrail day.

We wondered beforehand why such low prices for a thousand kilometers in a spacious two-person compartment were even possible. The answer to this question lies in the obviousness, or rather the necessity, of this train. Night trains are a matter of course here in Finland, because they fulfill an important task in this huge country, reliably connecting people in the southern regions with those in the north. Regardless of weather and season. Night trains are therefore subsidized by the Finnish government. If you would like to learn more about this, we recommend our report on our visit to the VR state railway maintenance facility in Helsinki. The link can be found at the end of this blog post.

The night train service is popular: the train is well occupied and leaves Helsinki right on time at 8:29 p.m. The Finnish railways really do seem to be reliable.

We booked the trip via the VR (Valtionrautatiet – Finnish State Railways) app, which was very quick and easy. In addition to older single-story sleeping cars with shared compartments, there are luxurious two-person compartments in large double-decker sleeping cars. And they are really impressive: due to the wider and higher carriages (in Finland, the railways run on a wider gauge than in the rest of Europe), there is plenty of space even in double-decker carriages. The additional space is used innovatively here in Finland. For example, there are lockers, telephone booths, and staffed luggage drop-off points on the train.

The beds are very comfortable and long enough even for taller people like us. Towels hang in the shower, and shower gel and soap are provided. The WiFi also works perfectly (where there is network coverage). Everything is extremely clean and works flawlessly—as is the case with almost everything here in Finland. And the cars from the 1990s still look modern.

The best car on the train

And there's something else on the bed: a brochure with the dining car menu, explicitly titled: The best car on the train. The brochure promises a wide range of snacks, drinks, and hot meals. Since we had already heard and read about the Finnish dining cars, we immediately make our way there. And here we are fascinated once again. The spacious and cozy car really invites you to enjoy dinner.

We order a salad as a starter, followed by meatballs with mashed potatoes. The food is served directly at our table. It is presented on porcelain plates with real cutlery. The whole experience feels solid and is a far cry from plastic cutlery and paper plates. And the food tastes really good.

Shortly after we have been served our meal, with the train still rattling through the suburbs of Helsinki, we come to an abrupt halt. Somewhat perplexed, we look out of the window and expect an announcement that there is a problem with the locomotive, a signal, or a switch. However, no announcement is made.

Instead, the restaurant employee, who could be described as a chef, peeks out of his galley and calls out to the dining room that the car carriages are now being coupled up. It will continue immediately afterwards. Another special feature of these night trains is the car transport service offered by VR. The car is driven to a suburb of Helsinki, where the road vehicles are then driven onto special car transport wagons (also two-story, partially covered).

The drivers then board the night train, while their cars are transported on the car carriage at the rear. And this is where these carriages are coupled with the cars. We think this is an ingenious service. Especially in winter, we imagine the road conditions to be quite arctic, dark, and nasty. Instead of having to drive hundreds of kilometers on the road, there is this alternative offered by Finnish Railways. It is obviously very popular, as the train and restaurant fill up considerably after this stop. After dinner, we make room for other passengers and disappear into our berth.

Skandinavisk frukost

The next morning, we wake up after a deep sleep. The carriages roll along very smoothly and you can hardly feel that the train is moving. As always on night trains, the first glance out of the window in the morning is a very special moment: where is the train now? Are we running on time or were there delays during the night? So much can happen over a good 1,000 kilometers of track. But our train is running on time. We are just leaving Kemi, where the locomotive was changed. Instead of an electric locomotive, two diesel locomotives are now pulling us further north. The route from Kemi to Kolari is not electrified. Another special feature is that such a long and heavy night train is pulled by two diesel locomotives.

We look forward to breakfast and reach the restaurant car just as the train crosses the Arctic Circle. The landscape has changed in the meantime, becoming barren and gray, with remnants of snow lying in the forests. And it looks cold outside. Breakfast would also have been served in the compartment, but we prefer the best car on the train. Just like in a hotel, this is no problem. We give the staff our compartment number and they note in the system that we had breakfast in the restaurant car.

However, breakfast is as barren as the landscape outside. There is warm porridge with a few blueberries on top, accompanied by coffee. This porridge is not exactly a culinary gem, but the Skandinavisk frukost efficiently satisfies our hunger.

After breakfast, there is just enough time to brush our teeth and pack our bags – the train will soon arrive in Kolari. Shortly afterwards, we pull into the station, ten minutes early. We step out of the train into the freezing cold morning and head straight for the warm waiting room at the station. There isn't much to see of Kolari itself; the station seems to be in the middle of the forest and it smells of freshly cut wood. Next to the track with the platform is a timber loading facility where tree trunks are loaded onto freight trains from a miserably long pile of wood.

A truly exceptional night train

We agree: this is a truly exceptional night train. Neither of us has ever seen anything like it. Everything works, it is punctual, clean, modern, and reliable. You can count on this train, and everything runs smoothly and confidently. You can really sense that this train is not just an additional service, but an important and integral part of Finland's transport infrastructure.

After unloading the road vehicles from the car transporters, the drivers get back into their vehicles and drive away. And calm returns to this lonely station, so far north in beautiful Europe.

If you would like to learn more about the entire journey, we recommend Jonathan and François' travel blog and website, which offer many tips and tricks for traveling by train in Scandinavia: Schwedenreis.li (in German).

Jonathan and François visited the VR FleetCare plant in Helsinki, the maintenance division of Finnish State Railways. At the plant, Jonathan and François learned a lot about night trains in Finland. You can find this report here: Report on the visit to VR FleetCare (in German).

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