The transport system of Finland is well-developed. Factors affecting traffic include the sparse population and long distance between towns and cities, and the cold climate with waterways freezing and land covered in snow for winter.
VR-Group Plc, commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With 7,500 employees and net sales of €1,251 million in 2017, VR is one of the most significant operators in the Finnish public transport market area.
Helsinki City Transport or HKL is the official city-owned public transport company in Helsinki, Finland. It operates the Helsinki Metro. HKL's bus operations were merged with another city-owned company, Suomen Turistiauto, to form a new bus company called Helsingin Bussiliikenne, which has since been acquired by Koiviston Auto. Until the founding of HSL in January 2010, HKL was responsible for the planning and organization of all public transport in Helsinki. The majority of HKL's operations, excluding certain parts of the Metro operations, were moved to Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd in February 2022.
The Helsinki Metro is a rapid transit system serving the Helsinki capital region, Finland. It is the world's northernmost metro system. It was opened to the general public on 2 August 1982 after 27 years of planning. It is operated by Helsinki City Transport and Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd for Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and carries 92.6 million passengers per year.
Helsinki commuter rail is a commuter rail system serving the Helsinki metropolitan area. The system is managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) and operations are contracted out to VR at least until 2031.
Länsimetro is an extension to the Helsinki Metro system in Finland, which opened on 18 November 2017. Länsimetro extends the system's two lines, M1 and M2, from Central Helsinki to the neighbouring city of Espoo. The new stretch continues the lines from the existing Ruoholahti station via the island of Lauttasaari, the Aalto University Otaniemi campus and Tapiola, the terminus of line M2. Line M1 continues further west to Matinkylä. Unlike previous extensions to the Helsinki Metro system, Länsimetro runs entirely underground. The second phase opened on 3 December 2022 and continues the line further west to Kivenlahti, near the municipal border of Kirkkonummi.
Trams in Helsinki form part of the public transport system organised by Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and operated by Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd in Finland's capital city of Helsinki. The trams are the main means of transport in the city center, and 56.8 million trips were made on the system in 2019. In addition to the older tram network, there is a single light rail line that was opened in October 2023. Although technically compatible with the tram network, the light rail line is separate from the city center tram network.
Public transport in Helsinki consists of bus, tram, metro, local railway and ferry services. The system is managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and covers Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa and the outlying Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo and Tuusula.
Urheilupuisto (Finnish) or Idrottsparken (Swedish) is an underground metro station in Espoo on the Länsimetro extension of Helsinki metro. The station is located in western Tapiola, at the northern edge of Jousenpuisto Park and south of the Tapiolan Urheilupuisto. A 790-space car park was built next to the metro station and offers elevator access to the station.
Škoda Transtech Oy is Finland's major domestic manufacturer of low-floor tram and railway rolling stock. It specializes in building tram and railway vehicles for extreme climatic conditions, such as those encountered in Finland.
The Sm3 Pendolino is a class of high-speed body-tilting trains operated by VR Group. It is a member of the Pendolino train family; its design is based on the ETR 460. The first two trainsets were assembled in Finland by Rautaruukki-Transtech in the mid-1990s. The rest of the series of eighteen EMUs were built by Fiat Ferroviaria between 2000 and 2006. The trains serve most of Finland's major cities such as Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Joensuu with a maximum speed of 220 km/h (140 mph), although this speed is only attained between Kerava and Lahti. The train has a power output of 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) and weighs 328 tonnes.
The Stadler Variobahn is a German-designed model of articulated low-floor tram and light rail vehicle. Since its introduction in 1993, the Variobahn has been manufactured variously by ABB, Adtranz, Bombardier Transportation, and since 2001 by Stadler Rail. As of 2009, 254 trams have been ordered, with an additional 110 on option. A unit costs about €2.5 million.
The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority is the inter-municipal authority that maintains the public transportation network of the nine municipalities of Greater Helsinki, Finland.
Allegro was the brand name of a now defunct high-speed train service, operated by Alstom VR Class Sm6 trains, between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Koivusaari metro station is a station located underwater on the Länsimetro extension of the Helsinki Metro.
Until 2021, Helsinki was Finland's only remaining city with tram traffic. Two other cities—Turku (see Turku tram) and Vyborg —have had tram systems. Vyborg abandoned its trams in 1957 after it was ceded to the Soviet Union after the end of World War II. Turku withdrew its trams in 1972.
The DBAG Class 481/482 is an electric multiple unit train for the Berlin S-Bahn. The class 481 was designed to replace the aging rail cars after the German reunification in 1990. The first mock-up models were presented in 1993 with the first rollout on 22 January 1996.
The HKL Class M100 is the first and oldest class of metro trains in use on the Helsinki Metro. One train consists of two individually numbered cars. A total of 42 units were manufactured between 1977 and 1984.
The HKL Class M300 is a class of metro trains operated by Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd in use on the Helsinki Metro. 20 four-carriage trains were built between 2014 and 2016 by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles for the Länsimetro extension. In November 2019, HKL announced the purchase of five additional trains, delivered in 2022.
