The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Väylävirasto), commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, has studied how the European standard rail gauge could be extended from Sweden into Northern Finland. The European standard gauge is 1,435 mm, which is 89 mm narrower than Finland’s current 1,524 mm gauge. If the European gauge were to be introduced in Northern Finland, the most likely solution would be to build a parallel track alongside the existing one.
The narrower gauge would enable better connections to the rest of Europe and especially improve military mobility. It would also have a positive impact on accessibility and the safety of transport systems. For businesses, the European gauge would likely make operations easier, since freight and passengers would no longer need to switch trains at the Swedish border.
A common gauge would facilitate civilian traffic, but above all, NATO military mobility between member states would benefit. Security of supply would improve as connections to the west became more functional. However, building new railways is costly, and construction would also result in significant emissions.
Plans for a Connection Reaching Kemi
The Rail Nordica project (Pohjolan Rata) explores how a European gauge line could be implemented from Haparanda to the port of Kemi and on the Tornio–Röyttä section. The project also involves planning a new bridge over the Tornio River and a new loading site. At this stage, the planning focuses mainly on general-level design, including environmental impact assessments. In the Tornio area, the design is being developed to the railway plan level. The planning work is expected to continue until 2029.
According to the EU’s TEN-T regulation on European transport networks, Finland must also examine the wider adoption of the European gauge by 2027. This study has not yet started. Nevertheless, the potential development of the railways is already being considered in various contexts. For example, Väylävirasto is studying the use of sleepers that can support both the European and Finnish gauges. Since sleepers are regularly replaced during basic renovations anyway, new dual-purpose sleepers would allow for later conversion to the narrower European gauge.
Parallel Track Is the Most Likely Option
At present, it seems that building a new, narrower track alongside the existing one would be the best way to adopt the European gauge in Northern Finland. This would maintain the current rail connections within Finland while improving links to Sweden. The studies have examined connections across the existing network north of Oulu and from Oulu to Raahe. A new connection from Kolari to Svappavaara in Sweden has also been reviewed.
In some areas, however, building a new track next to the current one may not be possible. In such cases, an alternative could be overlapping (dual-gauge) tracks, where four rails are laid in an interlaced configuration. This type of system is already in use on the Haparanda–Tornio railway bridge. Building dual-gauge tracks is cheaper than constructing a completely new line, but there are uncertainties about their technical feasibility, especially on long sections.
Converting the existing tracks in Northern Finland entirely to the European gauge has not been considered, as this would disrupt Finland’s domestic rail traffic if the north had a different gauge than the rest of the country.
Problems caused by differing rail gauges could also be solved through rolling stock modifications or new innovations. At present, transshipment is possible at the Finnish-Swedish border. Another option would be to lift the train and change its bogies, allowing it to switch gauge. However, these solutions would not fully replace dedicated European-gauge tracks and would require significant investment in rolling stock. Furthermore, European-gauge tracks would still require specially equipped rolling stock due to differences in electrification systems between Finland and Sweden.