You probably already know about Finland's
excellent long-distance night trains and their great double-decker sleeper cars, complete
with ensuite showers. But I'm not going to show you any of that today, as we are instead
checking out Finland's lesser-known old blue sleeper cars from 1978. So join me on this
trip to find out if these carriages are up to par with Finland's other excellent trains, as we
take the 12-hour overnight train up to Tornio. Our journey starts at Helsinki's Main
Railway Station, located right in the heart of the Finnish capital. The current
station building dates back to 1919, with its iconic lantern-bearer
statues and the clock tower. But it's not only on the outside the
station looks great, so let's go inside, and let me show you why this is also one
of my favorite railway stations in Europe. I mean, just look at these chandeliers. I mean, that must be one of the
prettiest Burger Kings out there. Anyway, continuing straight ahead
is where you'll find the platforms. We're catching Pikajuna or
Express Train 269 to Kolari, which will be departing from
track number eight tonight. By the departure boards, the station features
even more shops, and inside the station, you will also find a ticket office. These are, however,
increasingly rare, with VR having the internet and its ticket machines doing most of the work
these days. And in the station's basement, you'll find these modern luggage storage facilities.
These are a great place to leave your bags after checking out from the hotel in the morning so you
can explore the city bag-free before catching the night train. Not hidden away in a basement are
the train tracks, so let's go and catch our train. Helsinki has an extensive commuter rail network
served by these units and the newer FLIRT trains, which you will most likely use if you arrive in
Helsinki and catch the excellent airport rail link, and of course, also the great double-decker
trains used on long-distance services across the country. But we are, of course, not here to catch
any of those. Our train is being reversed into the platform roughly 15 minutes before departure
and consists of a mix of double-decker carriages with sleeper cabins, a dining car, and what we
are here to check out tonight, the lesser-known blue carriage sleeper cars. Tonight's train will
initially be hauled by an SR2 class locomotive built by SLM/ABB and is capable of speeds of up
to 210 km per hour. Right, let's head on board. Unlike VR's double-decker carriages, there
are a few small steps up into the carriage, so if you have large luggage,
it might be best to try and book yourself in one of the double-deckers.
Your cabin is indicated on your ticket, and you just go and head there yourself.
Here's where I'll be spending the night. Remember to grab the key card, which
you will find sitting in the door. And as I was traveling alone, I folded up
the middle bunk to make a little more space, and with an on-time departure, we're now
making our way north for the next 13 hours. The first few minutes are spent navigating the
railway junctions north of Helsinki Railway Station, running past the famous Linnanmäki
amusement park before arriving in Pasila, an important shoulder station where the line west
towards Turku diverges from the mainline north. And interestingly, our train is actually going
to stop at Pasila twice... well, kind of. VR also offers the ability to
bring a car with the train, and in Helsinki, the loading station
is located a bit north of Pasila, and here we see the car carrier wagons
ready to be shunted onto our train. So while the carriages are being added to
the back of the train, we just sit still for a bit. With the train now fully assembled, we're
ready to move again, and we have now rejoined the main line. And I think it's about time I'll
show you the route map for today's journey. We are on board Pikajuna 269, which leaves
from Helsinki, making stops at Pasila, Tikkurila, Riihimäki, Hämeenlinna,
Tampere, Seinäjoki, Kokkola, Ylivieska, Oulu, Kemi before arriving into Tornio.
After Tornio, the train continues with a few more stops further north to Kolari. The
journey to Tornio is scheduled to take 11 hours and 52 minutes to cover 811 km, giving
the train an average speed of 68 km per hour. As the light is quickly fading, it's time to
check out the cabin where we'll be staying the night. The cabin comes with coat hooks
as well as a ladder to help you get into the top bunks. Luggage storage can be
found above the door. As you can see, the cabin can be made up with up to three bunks,
each comes with a small reading light as well as a storage pocket. Over here, you will
find a small table as well as a washbasin. Next to the washbasin, you will also find
two key cards. Make sure to bring them if you leave the cabin. This is the only power
socket, so make sure to bring a power bank. The cabin also comes with water as well
as tea cups and some more luggage storage up here. So honestly, despite their age,
they seem to be in a good state. And now, as it's getting dark, let's find out
if they offer a good night's sleep. Good morning from Oulu. I've had a great night
of sleep. These carriages are super quiet, and the beds are comfortable. I can struggle a
bit to sleep on night trains from time to time, but on this one, I was able
to sleep mostly uninterrupted. If you're a bit of a train geek like me, you'll want to get off the train here in Oulu,
as our electric locomotive is swapped here. [Train Noise] And is swapped for diesel traction as the line
to Kolari is one of the very few unelectrified lines still left in Finland. These are DR16
locomotives built by either Valmet or Transtech, capable of speeds of up to 140 km per hour.
And this is also the only long-distance train service in Finland not to run exclusively with
electric trains all the way from start to finish. The train is scheduled to sit in Oulu for
50 minutes to allow the shunting operation to take place, which meant a freight
train overtook us in the meantime. It also looked like a lot of people opted to
bring their car with the train, which is great to see. But as it's cold outside,
let's get back into the warm carriage. Well, it's now time for the all-important toilet
review. Nice and simple locking mechanism. The sink is working, there's a soap dispenser
as well, plenty of toilet paper and towels. It's one of the more old-school toilets,
but it's looking clean, so thumbs up. The main drawback of these carriages
is that there's no access to a shower, unlike in the double-decker ones. But one
thing all Finnish sleeper trains have is a restaurant car. It's open for most of the
train journey, except for a few hours during the middle of the night. It comes equipped
with a full onboard kitchen serving hot meals, but there's also plenty of things on offer you
can take to go back to your cabin if you so wish. Further down in the train, you will also
find some of the double-decker carriages, which is also where you will find some
seats if you're just doing a short hop during the night hours. Or if you really
want to save a buck, you can do the full overnight journey in them as well. However, when
I show you just how much I paid for this ticket, I think you'll agree spending a little more
on a cabin really is easily justifiable. A great feature in Finnish long-distance
trains is that they have lockers so you could put your backpack in here
while you sleep, but honestly, Finland is so safe it probably wouldn't even
matter, but it's nice for peace of mind. And here's what one of the double-decker
sleeper cars looks like. Right, time for us to continue for the final stretch up to Tornio. What a beautiful morning for some train
travel. We're now approaching Kemi, which is our penultimate stop for
my journey today. This is also an important railway junction as we just north
of the station cross over the Kemi River. [Train Noise] Just after the river crossing, we leave the
electrified mainline towards Rovaniemi behind where most of the Finnish sleeper trains
go, and we are now heading up here on the line towards Kolari, which sometimes
sees as few as two trains per week. And as we are now approaching Tornio, it's time
to talk about fares. I paid just 69€ for a ticket in this cabin, which I think is amazing value for
both what is long-distance transport and overnight accommodation, especially in a Nordic country
like Finland. And to make things even better, it's regularly possible to find tickets in a
private cabin like this for as low as 49€ if you book far in advance. Tickets can easily
be booked in advance on the VR app or website and shown on your phone. Prices vary based
on demand, so book as early as possible. VR does not charge extra to book a lower
deck cabin in the slightly better and newer double-decker cars, which also grants you access
to a communal shower. So I'd probably book that if still available. But if not, I would not
hesitate to book again in these blue carriages. Right, I hope you have enjoyed my review
of the slightly lesser-known Finnish night trains that still, despite their age, are an
excellent option. These carriages are mostly found on the Kolari Night Train but can also
appear during peak times on the more popular Helsinki to Rovaniemi route, especially
around the holidays in the winter months. Right, welcome to Tornio. Make sure to subscribe
to the channel if you want to see more videos like this. I try to post a new one every Sunday. You
can also follow me on Twitter, where I post live from my travels. It's a great place to get a sneak
peek at what videos might be coming in the future. I'm now going to walk over to
Haparanda in Sweden and catch the Arctic high-speed train down to Luleå.
That video is already out on my channel, so just press the card right
on screen to be taken there. Thank you so much for watching this video.
