Buses continue to shuttle passengers between Russia and Finland, after the last remaining rail link between the two countries was suspended on Sunday.
People in Finland with Russian backgrounds, as well as their relatives, were clearly affected by the end of the Allegro train service between St Petersburg-Helsinki.
"My mother has come to Finland for the first time since 2019," said Anastasia Trizna, a woman who moved to Finland from St Petersburg 12 years ago.
"She didn't travel during the pandemic and came here on Saturday, on what was almost the last train to Finland. She will have to return by bus, however,"
Since air traffic between Russia and Finland was also recently suspended, buses are now the final direct public transport route linking the two countries.
The last Allegro train from St Petersburg for the foreseeable future rolled into Helsinki on Sunday evening.
Three firms operating
As of Monday, there were three daily bus services running between Helsinki and St Petersburg. The routes are run by private bus firms, including Ecolines from Latvia, Estonia's Lux Express and the Russian-based Sovavto.
Ecolines' St Petersburg-Helsinki route takes about seven hours, according to the firm's timetable.
The companies are planning to add more routes, for example Ecolines aims to add an extra daily return trip starting on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sovavto has plans to add routes from St Petersburg to the Finnish cities of Lappeenranta and Helsinki. At this point the firm operates daily routes to Helsinki with the exception of Mondays and plans to increase its four weekly trips to Lappeenranta to six times a week.
The Vaalimaa border crossing in southeastern Finland usually sees four coaches cross every day, while the crossing in Nuijamaa — about an hour's drive north — sees two buses in each direction daily, according to Mikko Lehmus, who heads the Border Guard's risk analysis unit.
"The buses have been pretty full. The traffic from trains will certainly be partly shifted to these buses and load sizes will increase," he said, adding that it may become difficult to get tickets and not everyone who would normally be able to get a seat on trains will manage to get a bus ticket.
Between 300-400 passengers typically used the Allegro train service each day.
Travel between the countries is still possible with passenger vehicles, but Covid-related rules are still in effect at the border, regardless of the mode of transportation. Personal vehicle crossings have been relatively low for the past couple of years, since the epidemic started and restrictions were implemented.
Lehmus said that people who cross the border are well aware of the changes, adding that a potential border shutdown may be a cause for concern among some Russians.
Anastasia Trizna, who is visiting with her mother, agreed with that sentiment.
"It's a big fear. It's feared that Russia would completely shut borders to its own citizens, or at most only allow them to travel with special permits," Trizna said.