Ring Rail Line trains will stop at all stations

HSL has decided that trains will stop at all stations along the Ring Rail Line. The new rail line will open in July. The decision was made on the basis of test runs made in April.

“Stopping at all stations makes it easy for passengers to remember the route.  Moreover, it will increase journey times to the Helsinki Airport significantly. The journey time from Helsinki via Tikkurila to the airport is 27 minutes, via Myyrmäki 32 minutes,” says HSL’s Director of Public Transport Planning Department Tero Anttila.

HSL studied two options. In the other option, the Ring Rail Line trains would have passed Käpylä, Tapanila and Ilmala stations. The test runs showed that not stopping at these stations would not shorten the journey time enough to justify pursuing this option.  

The trains running counterclockwise from Helsinki will be labeled “I”, while the ones running clockwise will be labeled “P”. The M trains will disappear. Otherwise, the commuter train letter codes and stopping locations will remain unchanged. The final timetables will be completed in May. In the daytime, the I and P trains will run every 10 minutes, 7pm-10pm every 15 minutes and in quiet times 4am-6am and 10pm-midnight every 30 minutes. The last train to the airport will leave at about 1.15pm to accommodate passengers arriving on flights after the midnight. 

Ring Rail Line provides also important crosstown services

“Now that we are getting closer to the opening of the new rail line, we can say that the coming summer will see an upheaval in rail and air travel in Finland when it becomes possible to travel to the airport by train. The line will revolutionize also the public transport services in Vantaa. Crosstown services between East and West Vantaa become more efficient and frequent. In August Vantaa will also get a new bus network when the feeder service network is introduced," says HSL Executive Director Suvi Rihtniemi.

More information: hsl.fi/ringrailline

New commuter train route maps and timetables

New commuter train route maps, timetables and maps at stations will be introduced during the summer. As the procurer of Helsinki region commuter train services  HSL is also responsible for passenger information in the area. HSL’s goal is coherent and intuitive information landscape. At the moment, the information available at stations is produced by several parties and is fragmented. There are 41 stations in the HSL area.

“Over 7,000 people evaluated the draft information material displayed at the Central Railway Station and online. We received over 3,000 comments. It is great that our products spark such interest," says HSL Service Design Manager Jarno Ekström.

Route map (sample)