A new passenger train service linking northern Finland and Sweden has resumed for the first time in nearly 40 years, restoring a rail link that had been suspended since the late 1980s and early 1990s. The inaugural service departed the Finnish coastal city of Oulu on Monday morning, crossing the border into Sweden's Haparanda, where it was greeted by crowds waving Finnish and Swedish flags.

The twice-daily route takes around 100 minutes and follows Finland's west coast before crossing into Sweden, though passengers must change trains at Haparanda to continue their journey southward. It restores a connection previously halted due to low passenger numbers and differing track gauges, as Finland historically used wider, Russian-standard tracks; Finland is now updating its tracks to the European standard. The revived link enables an approximately 5,000km rail journey from Portugal's Algarve to Finland's Kolari, reportedly Europe's longest train route, as well as a 24-hour service between Helsinki and Stockholm. Officials, including Finland's transport minister and VR chief executive Elisa Markula, described it as reflecting growing Nordic cooperation and a wider "renaissance" in European rail travel.