Two new train stations between Helsinki and Lahti, in Mäntsälä and Haarajoki, also opened. The new rail link cuts travel time between Helsinki and Lahti from 1.5 hours to just around an hour. The rail will also speed up train travel between Helsinki and eastern Finland by about half an hour.
The new 74-kilometre rail link has been four years in the making and cost over 300 million euros.
Rail Reforms Stop Services to Some Areas Reforms by the Finnish rail company VR also means that some services have been terminated. The time-honoured night train between Helsinki and Kajaani has been discontinued, as has the night train between Turku and Joensuu. Also, a direct night train to Kemijärvi has temporarily stopped running, however connections from Rovaniemi to Kemijärvi will continue through the end of the year. Faster Pendolino trains will no longer stop in Hämeenlinna. Furthermore, trains will no longer service Taavetti, Jalasjärvi, Härmä, Kuivaniemi or Ii. Finnish News Agency, YLE24, YLE TV News