New train connection strengthens travel between Norrbotten and Finland

On August 10, passenger trains will begin running between Oulu, Tornio, and Haparanda. For Norrbotten, this marks a historic return of regular passenger traffic across the border and a step toward greater, more seamless travel through the Arctic region.

After several years of work, the cross-border train connection between northern Finland and Norrbotten is becoming a reality. VR, Finland’s equivalent to SJ, has signed an agreement for tendered passenger train traffic between Oulu, Tornio, and Haparanda. Service starts on Monday, August 10, 2026, and will initially include 28 trips per week, with two departures in each direction every day.

For the hospitality sector in Norrbotten, this announcement is significant. Accessibility is a fundamental prerequisite for developing Sweden’s Arctic destinations, and a functioning travel infrastructure creates new opportunities for visitors, businesses, and residents alike. For more than twelve years, the Arctic Sweden Visitors Board has collaborated with Finnish Lapland and Northern Norway, with a particular focus on east-west accessibility and stronger connections between the countries. Train traffic between Finland and Sweden has long been a priority in that work.

In a recent survey among European tour operators, it emerged that travelers in Europe want to be able to travel by train, preferably all the way from their home country. In the survey, 72 percent of tour operators also responded that connections between Finnish Lapland and Norrbotten are important or very important, ideally with daily departures.

“There is demand from both international tour operators and European travelers. Therefore, it is very gratifying that we are now getting a connection that meets something we have worked toward for a long time. This is not just a new train line across the border, but an important piece of the puzzle in broader Arctic travel,” says Johanna Ögren, Head of Marketing and Business Intelligence at the Arctic Sweden Visitors Board.

The new service does more than just link Haparanda and Oulu. It connects Norrbotten more clearly to the Finnish railway network, with opportunities to travel further north in Finland and south toward Helsinki and onward internationally. On the Swedish side, there are already train connections linking Haparanda with Kalix, Boden, and Luleå through Norrtåg’s services, while SJ’s night trains connect Norrbotten with Stockholm, Kiruna, Abisko, and Narvik. Together, this strengthens Norrbotten’s position as a link between the Swedish railway network, northern Finland, and Northern Norway, making it possible to see travel in the north as part of a larger, interconnected rail network.

For the visitor, it is about being able to move more easily between places, experiences, and destinations. For the tourism industry, it is about something bigger: that accessibility creates the conditions for new flows, new collaborations, and new business.

“We in the hospitality sector are a regional development engine. When people can travel here, it creates a foundation for investment, restaurants, trade, culture, services, and ultimately a more attractive society for those of us who live and work here year-round. Infrastructure doesn’t just build transport; it helps build the region’s attractiveness,” concludes Johanna Ögren.

Tickets for the route between Oulu and Haparanda are sold via VR’s channels.