New train service connects Finland and Sweden for first time in decades - BBC News

The service will enable rail travel from Portugal to Lapland - what is believed to be the longest train journey in Europe.

Image source, VRImage caption, Train services between Haparanda and Oulu were suspended in the late 1980s and early 1990s

A new passenger train linking Finland and Sweden has begun running, creating the first rail connection between northern Finland and southern Europe in nearly 40 years.

Shortly after 05:00 local time (03:00 BST) on Monday, a double-decker train set off from the coastal Finnish city of Oulu, rumbling its way across the border to Sweden.

As the inaugural service crossed the Torne river from Finland and pulled into Sweden's Haparanda station, it was met by crowds of people waving Finnish and Swedish flags.

The route was initially suspended in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, due to low passenger numbers and technical differences in the tracks between Finland and Europe.