Kemi to Haparanda

[Segedunum]

Hi all,

On August 22nd, I'll be arriving in Kemi off of the night train from Helsinki at around 09:45, with the intention of catching the 14:28 train onwards from Haparanda to Lulea.

I recall reading online previously that buses from Kemi to Tornio are 'frequent' but a look at Matkahuolto on this date would suggest that the service is nothing of the sort, with there being nothing between 08:10 and 13:00 followed by a cluster of services in quick succession. Thankfully, due to the time difference, it looks like the 13:00 would be fine as I'd have around 1h40 to complete the 35ish minute walk over the border to Haparanda Station. I assume that the services are generally reliable?

Are there other buses that I'm simply not aware of, or is this my lot? Equally, I've read that these buses are free with an InterRail pass. Can anyone confirm this to be true please, as the information I've found online appears to be rather old. If not, 7 euro seems fairly reasonable for the journey. It also seems that usually, some services would continue to an interchange facility right on the border, but according to the website, all of those seem to stop on August 7th?

Equally, if anyone has any advice on how to spend what seems like will be a few hours in Kemi, then any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gloster]

Just to say that I have checked using the Swedish-language option on the site (sometimes, non-native language options are simplified) and can only find the same Kemi-Tornio connections. I can’t help with the walk as when I did it, thirty years ago, I started at the old station.

 

[dutchflyer]

1.a few weeks ago this was extensively answered with exact bus times-of that time, on community.eurail.com.
From what I remember: there is indeed-probably due to severely reduced service as covid result- large gap in timings, and even more from AM SAT till PM SUN. Matkahuolto is a very reliable nation-wide planner frequently updated. IMHO however in FI summer can play a big role in timings-the usual trips for students will not run. There are 2companies, 1 takes passes, the other not. Perhaps a google from their comp. names might reveal more info.
2.Haparanda/Haapparanttaa is since the line on SE side was reopened a EU-subsidized common bi-country facility nearly smack on the border with bus and train combined-and apparently also a big IKEA (cheap food if there is time). I cannot remember if this is now the common terminus for buses from the FI side.
3.a few days/week there is the overnight from HEL till Kolari-which runs a long way along the border northbound and sets down in a remote isolated spot in Tornea-without any connection.
BTW-as I was in FI in may, using an IR-there are some things to know: you do not need to reserve seats-but as all local tickets come with seat included and there is no signage of what is taken or not-plus that the seat that seems free may very well be assigned to someone still standing further on the line and buying a ticket-not a very good thing for long overnight trips. There is no way to book sleeperbeds (a good buy in FI on VR) on,line as passholder and the very few counters have very limited hours- it would be interesting to get your reviews in how you succeeded to do this afters.

 

[Gloster]

If I were you I would be prepared to take a taxi from Tornio station. My very rough estimate is that you are right on the edge of workable timings. Alternatively you could get a taxi to Tornio and walk the rest as you should have plenty of time, although this is likely to be more costly.

 

[Segedunum]

I'm actually using the InterRail pass (heavily discounted in the 50% off sale) from that day onwards only. I booked the sleeper train months ago for 69€ including en-suite which I'm sure would be cheaper than any sort of supplement I could purchase while in Finland. That'll be the only "proper" VR train I take on the trip (other than perhaps some local services around Helsinki).

I'm confident that time difference included, I should be fine walking to Haparanda from the centre of Tornio (I note that the isolated Tornio-Itäinen Station is somewhat further out of town). However, advice is duly noted and I'll make a note of taxi operators/apps should I run into difficulty. It looks to be about 40€ from Kemi to Tornio based upon estimates from one operator.

Of course there's also buses from Haparanda to Luleå as an emergency option, until relatively late (last one at 20:15).

Thank you all.

 

[rf_ioliver]

I'm afraId there's probably not a lot to do in Kemi; it is a small town with Oulu being *the* place to go.

However, if you have time check out the Icebreaker Sampo: https://experience365.fi/icebreakersampo/


If you want to follow your journey, especially for timings, use the juliadata.fi website. For example, here's Kemi today: https://juliadata.fi/timetables?s=Kemi&d=28.7.2022 - You can click on the train numbers for more information. Here's the search page: https://juliadata.fi/timetables type "Kemi" in to the box that says "numero tai liikennepaikka" ([train] number or "traffic place", ie: station, yard, reporting place etc)

 

[jamesontheroad]

Haparanda-Tornio has a single combined bus station on the frontier - although the buses you’re looking at originate / terminate in Tornio town centre, in Puutarhakatu (the main town square). From there you can walk across the rather windswept border plaza and over the river into Haparanda.

For a person of median walking ability, I reckon 30-45 minutes is fine to get from Puutarhakatu to Haparanda station.

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/RY3M8BcJFF35RGaw8

For some reason, I can see several more buses than you report on Monday 22 August, including two buses with Orajärven Bussit Oy at 10.50EET and 11.05EET. Try this search:

https://liput.matkahuolto.fi/connectionlist?lang=en&departurePlaceId=p1379&arrivalPlaceId=p2987&departureDate=2022-08-22#breadcrumb

The renovated station in Haparanda was vandalised a couple of months ago, so now a private security firm is employed to come and unlock it shortly before scheduled departures. There are no shops or cafes nearby, so best to get lunch etc in one of the two town centres. There is a small kiosk on the Norrtåg train Haparanda-Luleå selling coffee and snacks.

As noted, and for all future readers of this thread, yes, Sweden is one hour behind Finland, so you can use that your advantage.

There is a circular town bus route operated by Haparanda municipality. It’s so infrequent as to not be useful. Weekdays only, look for the blue line on this PDF, then the second table ”Till järnvägsstationen via centrum” (towards railway station via city centre) … the stop in Tornio is called “Rajalla” after the adjacent shopping mall “Rajalla på gransen”… https://www.haparanda.se/download/18.7276c25417dc29ed61a47e/1639657137943/Tidtabell Ringlinje från 2021-12-14.pdf

 

[Segedunum]

Good to know James, thank you. Certainly those mid-morning buses would be preferred even if I'll need to kill a fair bit of time in Tornio/Haparanda.

Shame that the station is suffering from vandalism, but so long as the station security actually turn up and unlock it, that's no bother.

 

[Segedunum]

So, an update. The bus was perfectly fine and turned up as intended. Nondescript white coach rocked up a few minutes late and it was a quick trip to Tornio.

Unfortunately Norrtåg couldn't be bothered running a service out of Haparanda so I'm currently squashed in the back of a taxi instead. Passengers who couldn't fit in the taxi essentially told to work things out for themselves.

 

[Davester50]

Glad you made it, shame about the taxi though.
Interesting that the rail link on the Swedish side is back. I had to take the bus in the early 90s, and fell asleep - there's only so many trees that you can look at!

 

[Segedunum]

It seems that the Haparanda line is off all of today as well with absolutely no replacement transport so it must be the first thing to get chopped when there's an issue.

That said, all of the passengers had Interrails from what I'd gathered (myself included) so clearly it hasn't caught on with the locals.

Maybe when the two sides eventually link up, I'll come visit again.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Sorry to hear about the inconvenience.

I've been using Norrtåg around Umeå the last few days and there appear to be some vehicle shortages affecting Boden-Haparanda and Lycksele-Hällnäs. In both cases, this is because of a shortage of equipment. The Haparanda line uses ETCS level 2 signalling, and only some of Norrtåg's electric units are equipped with this (the daily direct Umeå-Haparanda and Haparanda-Umeå trips were ditched after the first year, because it was an inefficient use of the limited number of ETCS-equipped trains). The Lycksele line is not electrified, and Norrtåg have just one diesel Y31 Itino. When it breaks down, they curtail the service to Hällnäs and replace it with a bus.

 

[Segedunum]

Yes, that makes sense. It's a shame that it's ended up causing the whole lot to be cancelled.

To be honest, to encourage people to use the line up to Haparanda, there needs to be a later service in/out. 14:28 is far too early to be throwing in the towel for the day.

Like I said though, it'll probably take the establishment of the through service in the future to have any drastic impact on passenger numbers.

 

[Watershed]

Sorry to hear about the inconvenience.

I've been using Norrtåg around Umeå the last few days and there appear to be some vehicle shortages affecting Boden-Haparanda and Lycksele-Hällnäs. In both cases, this is because of a shortage of equipment. The Haparanda line uses ETCS level 2 signalling, and only some of Norrtåg's electric units are equipped with this (the daily direct Umeå-Haparanda and Haparanda-Umeå trips were ditched after the first year, because it was an inefficient use of the limited number of ETCS-equipped trains). The Lycksele line is not electrified, and Norrtåg have just one diesel Y31 Itino. When it breaks down, they curtail the service to Hällnäs and replace it with a bus.

This sounds like a thoroughly disorganised state of affairs. Is there no joined-up strategy for the rollout of ETCS?

 

[Gloster]

It always used to be that the train times on the Haparanda line were intended to allow connections at Boden with the sleepers to and from the south. The whole service was based around that, but now it seems that it only connects with one of the two.

 

[Segedunum]

Thought I'd add in a couple of extra details related to the bus-

It actually took a route around Tornio completely different to what Google Maps suggested and proceeded to stop at the bus station on the frontier anyway. There seems to be a standard loop that drivers do around the centre before terminating there. Might be different with the more "local" buses but this was the case on an "express" that came from Oulu. Fairly empty coach too, with English-speaking driver and the ability to pay on board (cash only).

Not loads to do in the vicinity but I killed two hours by having a burger in the Hesburger on the Finnish shopping centre before having a wander around the "EU-park" which was a pleasant enough assortment of green spaces. Also a small exhibition of photography next to the underpass that leads to IKEA with information in English.

I ended up the rest of the time in what is the most northerly IKEA in the world by having a cake in the café.

Like I say, shame about the train but the actual process of getting across the border very painless. Very much enjoyed the sleeper experience on VR too out of Helsinki to Kemi.

 

[jamesontheroad]

This sounds like a thoroughly disorganised state of affairs. Is there no joined-up strategy for the rollout of ETCS?

Yes, but the strategy is to only build new lines (eg Kalix-Haparanda) with ETCS. Existing lines, like the Main Line Through Norrland, are not so highly prioritised.