Finnish Main Line

The Finnish Main Line (Päärata; Stambanan) is a 810 km long electrified main railway line in Finland between the cities of Helsinki and Oulu. The Main Line was first opened on March 17, 1862; at that point, the 108 km railway line only ran from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna.

The railway serves Helsinki, Riihimäki, Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Parkano, Seinäjoki, Kokkola, Ylivieska and Oulu. The future Suomirata project aims to improve the current Riihimäki–Tampere section by either building additional tracks alongside the existing main line or an entirely new straight line. The goal is to reduce the travel time from Tampere to Helsinki from the current 1 hour 33 minutes to about an hour.