Trains to northern Finland fully booked as Easter travel begins

Yle News
Posted: Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 16:37 — Last Updated: Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 16:52
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The national rail company promises to reimburse up to 1,000 passengers on two sold-out holiday trains that left Helsinki about six hours late. Highway traffic is picking up on Thursday afternoon, with some people leaving jobs in the cities early to head off for the four-day weekend.

State Railways VR reports several delays on northbound trains from Helsinki to Oulu, Rovaniemi and Kolari. Worst affected are trains that left the capital for Kolari, the northernmost point of the rail network, and Rovaniemi, capital of Finnish Lapland. They left Helsinki about six hours late due to technical problems.

By early Thursday afternoon the Kolari train was still nearly five hours behind schedule, while the Rovaniemi train was three hours late. Both trains were fully-booked with up to 500 passengers each, many heading for ski resorts in Finnish Lapland.

VR says their fares will be refunded due to the delays.

Other trains are running delays of less than an hour. Details are listed on the VR website.

Road traffic gaining pace

Highway traffic is picking up on Thursday afternoon, with some people leaving jobs in the cities early to head off for the four-day weekend.

Traffic is expected to peak sometime late Thursday, but also to be heavy on Friday. The post-holiday peak is expected on Monday between noon and 8 pm.