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If you're going to do the commuter trains, careful with the trains to Hanko - there is a very limited "regional/commuter" service from Helsinki, otherwise you have to take the InterCity service (hourly) to Karjaa and change there. Trains east of Lahti towards Kouvola and Kotka are interesting -...

As someone mentioned Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel - which IMHO is never going to be built, I can provide another border crossing oddity, though one that does not exist any more: The Porkkala Tunnel which was where the line from Helsinki to Turku in the areas of Kirkkonummi, Sjundeå and Ingå crossed...

Cut back to Patokangas, not far to the east from Kemijärvi now.

10 booked trains per day at Vainikkala. The others Niirala, Imatrankoski and Vartius are closed. The crossing at Kelloselkä probably hasn't been used since the 1954 when the line crossed the border and on to Alakurti (Алакуртти) - that line on the Russian side has gone completely. In the...

That's the train they use for the last service of the evening to Pontypridd :) Or, that's the one we're going to be sending up the Marches Line to reclaim our territories.

Got me thinking as I remember them building the station. Filton Juncton closed Sept '96, and Filton Abbey Wood with 2 platforms opened 1996, I guess September. A third platform was added in 2004 and a fourth in 2018

Not much traffic on the line to Kolari, basically the night train and one freight per day. Kolari itself is a small town (Lapland small town = village), and the station itself is basically a rail head for the surrounding ski resorts. Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi are much larger towns, with Rovaniemi...

For the next 2 months, I'm commuting with Finnair (and also VR) every week. If you book early enough you can get the first and last flights of the day to and from Oulu from Helsinki for under 60eur - of course midday is over 200eur. If you want a specific seat (why???!!), larger cabin bag, that...

VR of Finland have pretty good "Ekstra" and "Extra Plus" deals, and also small 2 and 4 person day cabins; they'll even do at-seat meal service too. Prices vary, but usually 20-30% above the normal ticket price. At the moment they are running deals on some trains, so I'm commuting between...

YLE ran a report today on the connections that will become possible when the line reopens: https://yle.fi/a/74-20199501 (Google Translate is your friend). Suora henkilöliikenne junalla Suomesta Ruotsiin on vihdoin toteutumassa ensi vuonna. A straight passenger train connection from Finland...

The Teleo service in Toulouse is one. Works well over the river gorge and links a hospital with the university. Probably could do with some further expansion to the west.

Tornio station has been renovated in preparation for the new services. The expected start date is Thursday 20 November 2026 ( https://www.tornio.fi/ajankohtaista/tornion-ja-haaparannan-valinen-henkilojunaliikenne-alkaa-vuonna-2026/ ). The budget is for 30 trains per week, ie: 15 to and 15 from...

Can't blame them - Kirkonummi would lose its occasional intercity train and the line from Karjaa to Salo most likely mothballed or closed. Currently the West Railway (Länsirata) is likely to be cut back to just a commuter service to Lohja. Personally the whole project is so full of questions...

Pen-y-Bont ... maybe to distinguish it as a placename rather than a statement? Pont y Ty Pridd -> Pontypridd ... most likely due to the contraction of Y Ty to just Y (the overall meaning doesn't change, but the "house" is dropped). Nearby is Tynant, which may be a contraction of Ty yn Y Nant ->...

GSM and later have been tested at 400kmh+ (one experiment was done by Thalys a few years back at those speeds IIRC). The primary issue is the handover between towers takes time - network routing need to be calculated and applied. Some preparation for this is done by both the phone and the base...

Misspellings IMHO should be corrected and these are more commonly seen in south (and to a point west Wales): The classic case is Llanelly being properly corrected to Llanelli, similarly Merthyr Tydfil, where the latter is misspelling of Tudful, or more correctly here, forcing the Welsh spelling...

The pricing system can be a pain I will agree to that, but VR's services onboard are generally excellent - they are a long way from the level of service that the real RyanAir of Finland provide (Finnair...who hold a virtual monopoly but are reducing services in order to be "competitive" ...

I used the line regularly in the mid 90s (1994-1995) living in Guildford. As I remember everything was 2 or 3 car 165/166s. Basically hourly service, alternating on the hour between Reading-Redhill (all stations) and Reading-Gatwick Airport (fast). There were some services which ran...

Just as a note, if you are planning to go from Hapanranda to Tornio by train, it is not yet confirmed that the cross-border services will start in December - most likely sometime next year. The best you can do at the moment is take a connecting bus from Haparanda-Tornio to Kemi. The only station...

Check here: https://www.vr.fi/radalla/suunnitellut-ratatyot (Finnish, maybe works with Google Translate), or here in English (generally in sync with the Finnish version): https://www.vr.fi/en/on-track/planned-track-work The timetable change is on the 14th December, so planned works might start...