Transport in Finland

Arriving in Tampere from Helsinki along Highway 3 (E12)

64% of all traffic on public roads takes place on main roads,[1]^: 11 which are divided into class I (valtatie/riksväg) and class II (kantatie/stamväg) main roads. Motorways have been constructed in the country since the 1960s, but they are still reasonably rare because traffic volumes are not large enough to motivate their construction. There are 863 kilometres (536 mi) of motorways.[1]^: 23 Longest stretches are Helsinki–Turku (Main road 1/E18), Vantaa–Ylöjärvi (Main road 3/E12), Helsinki–Heinola (Main road 4/E75), and Helsinki–Vaalimaa (Main road 7/E18). The world's northernmost motorway is also located in Finland between Keminmaa and Tornio (Main road 29/E8).

There are no toll roads in Finland.[3]

Office buildings line Kehä I in Pohjois-Haaga, Helsinki.

Speed limits change depending on the time of the year; the maximum speed limit on motorways is 120 km/h (75 mph) in the summer and 100 km/h (62 mph) in the winter. The main roads usually have speed limits of either 100 km/h or 80 km/h (50 mph). Speed limits in urban areas range between 30 km/h (19 mph) and 60 km/h (37 mph). If no other speed limit is signposted, the general speed limit in Finland is 50 km/h (31 mph) in built-up areas and 80 km/h (50 mph) outside.[4]

As of 2013, there are 4,95 million registered automobiles, of which 2,58 million cars. Average age of cars (museum cars excluded) is 12,5 years (in some regions even 15 years), and typically the cars are destroyed in age of 24 years.[5] In 2015, ca. 123 000 new vehicles were registered in Finland. About 550,000–600,000 used automobiles are sold each year in Finland.[6] During 2011–2014 the most sold car brand was Volkswagen. It had a market share of 12% of new cars.[7]

Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated bus 570 to airport operated by HSL in Vantaa, Finland in 2022 December.

A Finnair bus rushes passengers to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Coaches are mainly operated by private companies and provide services widely across the country. There is a large network of ExpressBus services with connections to all major cities and the most important rural areas as well as a burgeoning OnniBus 'cheap bus' network. Coach stations are operated by Matkahuolto.[8]

Local bus services inside cities and towns have often been tightly regulated by the councils. Many councils also have their own bus operators, such as Tampere City Transit (TKL), which operates some bus lines on a commercial basis in competition with privately owned providers. Regional bus lines have been regulated by the provincial administration to protect old transit companies, leading to cartel situations like TLO in the Turku region, but strong regional regulating bodies, like the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL/HRT), whose routes are put out to tender exist as well and will become the norm after the transitional period during the 2010s.

In 2015, number of road traffic accidents involving personal injury was 5,164. In them, 266 persons were killed.[9] The number of road deaths per million inhabitants is just below the European average. Traffic safety has improved significantly since the early 1970s, when more than one thousand people died in road traffic every year.[10]

Underground parking of noticeable size near Tikkurila railway station

Municipal law 30-31 § gives right to Referendum since year 1990. Citizens of Turku collected 15,000 names in one month for referendum against the underground car park. Politicians with in the elections unknown financing from the parking company neglected the citizens opinion.[11] According to International Association of Public Transport UITP parking places are among the most effective ways to promote private car use in the city. Therefore, many European cities have cancelled the expensive underground car parking after the 1990s. The EU recommended actions cover develop guidance for concrete measures for the internalisation of external costs for car traffic also in urban areas.[12] In Finland the shops routinely offer free parking for private cars.

A double-decker InterCity 2 train at Hämeenlinna.

VR Class Sr1 train at Kuopio.

The Finnish railway network consists of a total of 5,919 kilometres (3,678 mi)[13] of railways built with 1,524 mm (5 ft).[14] 3,072 km (1,909 mi) of track is electrified.[13] In 2010, passengers made 13.4 million long-distance voyages and 55.5 million trips in local traffic.[13] On the same year, over 35,000,000 tonnes (34,000,000 long tons; 39,000,000 short tons) of freight were transported.[13]

Finland's first railway was opened between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna in 1862,[15][16] and today it forms part of the Finnish Main Line (päärata), which is more than 800 kilometers long. Nowadays, passenger trains are operated by the state-owned VR. They serve all the major cities and many rural areas, complemented by bus connections where needed. Most passenger train services originate or terminate at Helsinki Central railway station, and a large proportion of the passenger rail network radiates out of Helsinki. High-speed Pendolino services are operated from Helsinki to other major cities like Jyväskylä, Joensuu, Kuopio, Oulu, Tampere and Turku. Modern InterCity services complement the Pendolino network, and cheaper and older long and short-distance trains operate in areas with fewer passengers.

The Helsinki area has three urban rail systems: a tramway, a metro, and a commuter rail system. Light rail systems are currently being planned for Helsinki and also for Turku and Tampere, two of the country's other major urban centres.

HKL Class M300 use on the Helsinki Metro

The Helsinki metro is a 43-kilometer broad-gauge metro system that connects the center of Helsinki with the eastern districts and the western Espoo. The capital region has the northernmost metro system in the world and the only one in Finland. The Helsinki metro was opened on August 2, 1982, initially between Rautatientori and Itäkeskus. On November 18, 2017, Länsimetro extended the metro lines from the inner city to the west, via Lauttasaari to Tapiola and Matinkylä, and on December 3, 2022, all the way to Kivenlahti.

There are plans to link Helsinki to Turku and Tampere by high-speed lines resulting in journey times of an hour between the capital and the two cities.[17] A link to Kouvola is also planned. The estimated cost of these lines is €10 billion.

In Finland there have been four cities with trams: Helsinki, Turku, Viipuri and Tampere. Of the older systems only Helsinki has retained its tramway network. The trams in Viipuri, having been lost to Soviet Union in 1945, ceased operations in 1957, while the Turku tramway network shut down in 1972.

In November 2016, Tampere city council approved the construction of a new light rail system. Construction of phase 1 begun late 2016 and finished in 2021. Tampere trams are already operating but the official opening date is 9 August 2021. Turku also has preliminary plans for new tram system, but no decision to build it has been made.

Helsinki currently operates 10 tramlines on a network of approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) of track in passenger service. The trams have annually 57 million passengers.[18][19]

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  New Škoda Artic tram in Helsinki
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  NewThe Artic XL tram in Helsinki
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  New Škoda Artic tram in Tampere
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  Funicular in Turku

Timber floating on Joensuu

Finland's canals are primarily located in inland waters. The canals of the Finnish sea area are mostly made for small boating. In terms of water traffic, a significant reason for canalization has been floating operations. For water management, canals have been built especially for Log driving and hydropower projects.

In order to lower and drain Lake Pohjalanjärvi, the depression of Rautajoki was deepened by canalization. The Finnish Waterways Association was founded in 1981 to promote the development of waterways and the construction of canals.