Many holiday travellers were forced to reschedule, re-route – or just wait – due to mainline rail delays and cancellations on Wednesday.
Train service was interrupted between two key rail hubs, Tampere and Seinäjoki, due to an electrical fault.
State Railways VR announced the glitch around 1 pm, and reported that it had been fixed some three hours later.
Traffic management agency Fintraffic said the problem was a broken track separator near Parkano, about halfway between Tampere and Seinäjoki. It said that part, which acts as a type of electrical switch, was worn out and that the damage was apparently not caused by external factors.
Delays drag on
The replacement work on the nation's main rail line took longer than expected. VR initially estimated that it would be completed by 2pm, but then announced a couple more postponements before the fault was fixed around 4pm.
The disruption caused considerable delays to train traffic.
The Intercity 36 train from Oulu in northern Finland to Helsinki on the south coast was the worst delayed, arriving about five and a half hours behind schedule. Other trains were also delayed by several hours.
VR warned travellers to brace for further delays in the evening due to shortages of rolling stock, for example.
The failure caused knock-on effects on other rail lines. In addition to delays, some trains were cancelled. These included the Intercity from Helsinki to Tampere that was scheduled to leave around 10pm.
Many foreign tourists aboard
Yle reporter Erik Vierkens, who was on a train stopped between Parkano and Tampere, said there were many foreign tourists aboard, most of them returning home after Christmas holidays in Lapland.
While passengers were initially told that it would take about 20 minutes to repair the track damage, the train ended up being about four hours late. As a result, many passengers had to frantically reschedule flights.
However, the atmosphere on the train was calm considering the situation, he reported.
"It's warm here, and there are plenty of supplies left in the restaurant car," he said. "People are in a holiday mood, so it's not tense yet."
Elk collision near Pori
In the early evening, a collision between a train and an elk halted rail service to the west-coast town of Pori.
The braking system of a train on its way from Tampere to Pori was damaged in the impact. As a result, the train had to be hauled to Kokemäki by a freight locomotive.
Train service between Tampere and Pori was replaced by buses.
Up-to-date information on delays and cancellations can be found on VR's website and social media channels.