Train traffic disruption in Finland turned into a full-scale mess Saturday evening after a serious electrical fault brought the country’s busiest rail line to a stop. The chaos began just before 7pm near Palopuro, close to Hyvinkää, when overhead cables came down on a northbound Pendolino train.
The impact shut down power in both directions of the main line, halting all traffic. VR, the Finnish national rail operator, said the fault was more complicated than expected. Crews worked through the night and didn’t complete repairs until nearly noon on Sunday, almost 17 hours later.
“This was a significant disruption that impacted thousands of people,” said Elli Hiiroinen, head of communications at VR. “We are gradually restarting traffic, but the delays and cancellations will continue throughout the day.”
More than ten long-distance trains were cancelled overnight and into Sunday morning. VR arranged buses between Helsinki and Riihimäki, but space was limited and many passengers were left with no options.
Three northbound overnight trains were completely stuck. Passengers had to remain on board the entire night until the trains were sent back to Helsinki around midday. Three southbound trains were also halted, though they were able to resume movement later Sunday.
Most of the halted trains stopped at stations, allowing passengers to get out and stretch, but for many, the disruption meant making last-minute transport or accommodation plans on their own. VR announced they would reimburse travelers for any unused tickets affected by the outage.
Local commuter trains managed to run short distances between Helsinki and Saunakallio, and from Hyvinkää toward Riihimäki. Temporary bus services were set up between Saunakallio and Hyvinkää to fill the gap.
Although these types of electrical faults are not rare, this one had wider impact. The damage reached adjacent tracks, making repair work more difficult and time-consuming. According to VR, the level of complexity was unexpected.
As of Sunday afternoon, services were slowly returning to normal. VR encouraged passengers to keep checking live updates for any new delays or changes to service.
