VR commuter rail lines
The Helsinki commuter rail system comprises four local and four regional services, each of which are identified by letters of the alphabet.
Letters have been used as service identifiers since 1972. This was originally inspired by the Copenhagen S-train system. Unlike Copenhagen, which maintains a strict alphabetical order, letters of Helsinki commuter rail services are often assigned on the basis of mnemonics, such as E for Espoo and K for Kerava, with care taken to ensure that the original letters did not sound or look similar, to avoid confusion. In recent years, however, this rule has been broken, with the Y train to Siuntio and the R train now also serving Tampere.
Commuter train services operate on four railway lines, radiating from the Helsinki Central Station:
- westbound on the Coastal Line (A, E, H, L, U and Y)
- northbound on the Ring Rail Line (I/P, separating from the Main Line after Hiekkaharju station)
- northbound on the Main Line (K)
The VR commuter rail system consists of three local and four interurban services:
- The D and R and T run from Helsinki to Riihimäki, Hämeenlinna (D and R) and Tampere (R), with various stopping patterns.
- The Z runs northbound from Helsinki on the Main Line, but separates on to the Lahti Line to run northeast just after Kerava.
- The M forms Tampere's commuter rail. It runs from Nokia to Tampere, with some services extending to Toijala. As of August 2022, this now runs hourly throughout the day, with roughly two-hourly extensions to Toijala.
- The G runs hourly from Lahti to Riihimäki.
- The O runs mainly from Kotka Port to Kouvola, with some services running between Lahti and Kouvola/Kotka.
Current lines
Frequencies are for off-peak only (Monday-Saturday).
Special lines
Special lines are lines that do not run regularly, and are usually not listed (explicitly or even at all) on the HSL/VR map. These include the lines to Siuntio, Kouvola and Tampere.
| Rantarata | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route | Service | tpd from Helsinki | tpd to Helsinki | Calling at |
| Helsinki to Siuntio | Y | 4 | 7 | Pasila, Huopalahti, Leppävaara, Espoo, Kauklahti, Masala, Kirkkonummi[1] Runs roughly hourly during peak hours, with one midday return. |
| Helsinki to Hanko | H | 0.42 | 0.42 | Pasila, Leppävaara, Espoo, Kirkkonummi, Siuntio, Ingå, Karis, Dragsvik, Ekenäs, Skogby, Lappohja, Santala, Hanko-Pohjoinen, Runs once every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evening. |
| Helsinki to Siuntio | L | 2 | 1 | Pasila, Ilmala, Huopalahti, Valimo, Pitäjänmäki, Mäkkylä, Leppävaara, Kilo, Kera, Kauniainen, Koivuhovi, Tuomarila, Espoo, Kauklahti, Masala, Jorvas, Tolsa, Kirkkonummi One return at about midnight and one outbound journey very early in the morning, which then becomes a Y train to Helsinki. |
| Helsinki to Kirkkonummi | 6 | 6 | Pasila, Ilmala, Huopalahti, Valimo, Pitäjänmäki, Mäkkylä, Leppävaara, Kilo, Kera, Kauniainen, Koivuhovi, Tuomarila, Espoo, Kauklahti, Masala, Jorvas, Tolsa, Kirkkonummi[1] Runs infrequently during early mornings and late evenings only. | |
| Helsinki-Riihimäki railway | ||||
| Route | Service | tpd from Helsinki | tpd to Helsinki | Calling at[1] |
| Helsinki to Hämeenlinna | R | 1 (from Riihimäki) | 1 | Pasila, Tikkurila, Kerava, Ainola, Saunakallio, Järvenpää, Jokela, Hyvinkää, Riihimäki, Ryttylä, Turenki Forms the morning and is formed of the evening D train to/from Hämeenlinna. |
| Helsinki to Hämeenlinna | D | 1 | Pasila, Tikkurila, Kerava, Järvenpää, Hyvinkää, Riihimäki, Ryttylä, Turenki Runs to Helsinki in the morning peak and from Helsinki in the evening peak. | |
| Helsinki to Tampere | R | 10 | 9 | Pasila, Tikkurila, Kerava, Ainola, Saunakallio, Järvenpää, Jokela, Hyvinkää, Riihimäki, Ryttylä, Turenki, Hämeenlinna, Parola, Iittala, Toijala, Viiala, Lempäälä Services are formed of between 2 and 4 units as far as Riihimäki, where the train length is reduced to 1 or 2 units. In the reverse direction, 1 or 2 units depart Tampere, with between 1 and 3 units added to the front at Riihimäki. |
| Kerava-Lahti railway | ||||
| Route | Service | tpd from Helsinki | tpd to Helsinki | Calling at |
| Helsinki to Kouvola | Z | 3 | 3 | Pasila, Tikkurila, Kerava, Haarajoki, Mäntsälä, Henna, Lahti, Villähde, Nastola, Uusikylä, Kausala, Koria |
Lines not terminating in Helsinki
These lines have both termini outside of the HSL area and include all lines from the VR commuter rail system.
- The M train runs from Nokia to Tampere and Toijala. It is Tampere's sole commuter rail line.
- The G train runs from Riihimäki to Lahti.
- The O train runs from Lahti to Kouvola/Kotkan satama and Kouvola to Kotkan satama.
References
All cited material is in Finnish only unless stated otherwise.
- ^ a b c d e f g h HSL & VR commuter rail map 2021–22 (also in Swedish and English)
- ^ "Kirkkonummi". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "HL 8466, ti 4.1.2022 13:37, Kirkkonummi – Helsinki asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b VR Timetable 12A 12.12.2021 – 26.3.2022
- ^ a b c VR Timetable 12 12.12.2021 – 26.3.2022
- ^ "Tampere asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "HL 9740, ke 5.1.2022 23:35, Tampere asema – Riihimäki asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ a b https://juliadata.fi/timetables?s=TPE&d=21.3.2025
- ^ "HL 9621, ke 5.1.2022 5:10, Helsinki asema – Tampere asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "HL 1786, ke 5.1.2022 8:02, Nokia – Tampere asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "HL 1796, ke 5.1.2022 18:05, Nokia – Tampere asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "HL 1792, ke 5.1.2022 16:05, Nokia – Tampere asema". juliadata.fi. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.