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Thetransport system ofFinland is well-developed. Factors affecting traffic include the sparse population and long distance between towns and cities, and the cold climate with waterways freezing and land covered in snow for winter.
The extensive road system is utilized by most internal cargo and passenger traffic. As of 2010[update], the country's network of main roads has a total length of around 78,162 kilometres (48,568 mi) and all public roads 104,161 kilometres (64,723 mi). The motorway network totals 779 kilometres (484 mi) with additional 124 kilometres (77 mi) reserved only for motor traffic.[1]: 23, 42 Road network expenditure of around €1 billion is paid with vehicle andfuel taxes that amount to around €1.5 billion and €1 billion, respectively.
The main international passenger gateway isHelsinki-Vantaa Airport with over 20 million passengers in 2018. About 25 airports have scheduled passenger services. They are financed by competitive fees and rural airport may be subsidized. The Helsinki-Vantaa basedFinnair (known for an Asia-focused strategy),Nordic Regional Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally. Helsinki has an optimal location forgreat circle routes between Western Europe and the Far East. Hence, many international travelers visit Helsinki on a stop-over between Asia and Europe.
Despite low population density, taxpayers spend annually around €350 million in maintaining 5,865 kilometres (3,644 mi) railway tracks even to many rural towns. Operations are privatized and currently the only operator is the state-ownedVR. It has 5 percent passenger market share (out of which 80 percent are urban trips in Greater Helsinki) and 25 percent cargo market share.[2] Helsinki has an urban rail network.
Icebreakers keep the 23 ports open all year round. There is passenger traffic from Helsinki and Turku, which have ferry connections toTallinn,Mariehamn,Sweden and several other destinations.
Road transport in Finland is the most popular method of transportation, particularly in rural areas where the railway network does not extend to. As of 2011[update] there are 78,162 kilometres (48,568 mi) of public roads, of which 51,016 kilometres (31,700 mi) are paved.[1]: 42 The main road network comprises over 13,329 kilometres (8,282 mi) of road.[1]: 23
64% of all traffic on public roads takes place on main roads,[1]: 11 which are divided intoclass I (valtatie/riksväg) and class II (kantatie/stamväg) main roads. Motorways have been constructed in the country since the 1960s, but they are still reasonably rare because traffic volumes are not large enough to motivate their construction. There are 863 kilometres (536 mi) of motorways.[1]: 23 Longest stretches areHelsinki–Turku (Main road 1/E18),Vantaa–Ylöjärvi (Main road 3/E12),Helsinki–Heinola (Main road 4/E75), andHelsinki–Vaalimaa (Main road 7/E18).The world's northernmost motorway is also located in Finland betweenKeminmaa andTornio (Main road 29/E8).
There are notoll roads in Finland.[3]
Speed limits change depending on the time of the year; the maximum speed limit on motorways is 120 km/h (75 mph) in the summer and 100 km/h (62 mph) in the winter. The main roads usually have speed limits of either 100 km/h or 80 km/h (50 mph). Speed limits in urban areas range between 30 km/h (19 mph) and 60 km/h (37 mph). If no other speed limit is signposted, the general speed limit in Finland is 50 km/h (31 mph) in built-up areas and 80 km/h (50 mph) outside.[4]
As of 2013[update], there are 4,95 million registeredautomobiles, of which 2,58 million cars. Average age of cars (museum cars excluded) is 12,5 years (in some regions even 15 years), and typically the cars are destroyed in age of 24 years.[5] In 2015, ca. 123 000 new vehicles were registered in Finland. About 550,000–600,000 used automobiles are sold each year in Finland.[6] During 2011–2014 the most sold car brand was Volkswagen. It had a market share of 12% of new cars.[7]
Coaches are mainly operated by private companies and provide services widely across the country. There is a large network ofExpressBus services with connections to all major cities and the most important rural areas as well as a burgeoningOnniBus 'cheap bus' network. Coach stations are operated byMatkahuolto.[8]
Local bus services inside cities and towns have often been tightly regulated by the councils. Many councils also have their own bus operators, such asTampere City Transit (TKL), which operates some bus lines on a commercial basis in competition with privately owned providers. Regional bus lines have been regulated by the provincial administration to protect old transit companies, leading tocartel situations like TLO in theTurku region, but strong regional regulating bodies, like theHelsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL/HRT), whose routes are put out to tender exist as well and will become the norm after the transitional period during the 2010s.
In 2015, number of road traffic accidents involving personal injury was 5,164. In them, 266 persons were killed.[9] The number of road deaths per million inhabitants is just below the European average. Traffic safety has improved significantly since the early 1970s, when more than one thousand people died in road traffic every year.[10]
Municipal law 30-31 § gives right toReferendum since year 1990. Citizens ofTurku collected 15,000 names in one month for referendum against the underground car park. Politicians with in the elections unknown financing from the parking company neglected the citizens opinion.[11] According to International Association of Public TransportUITP parking places are among the most effective ways to promote private car use in the city. Therefore, many European cities have cancelled the expensive underground car parking after the 1990s. The EU recommended actions cover develop guidance for concrete measures for the internalisation of external costs for car traffic also in urban areas.[12] In Finland the shops routinely offer free parking for private cars.
In Finland, 13% of the population reports cycling as their primary form of transportation. In 2016, the firstbicycle-sharing system,Helsinki City Bikes, opened in Finland.
The Finnish railway network consists of a total of 5,919 kilometres (3,678 mi)[13] of railways built with1,524 mm (5 ft).[14] 3,072 km (1,909 mi) of track is electrified.[13] In 2010, passengers made 13.4 million long-distance voyages and 55.5 million trips in local traffic.[13] On the same year, over 35,000,000 tonnes (34,000,000 long tons; 39,000,000 short tons) of freight were transported.[13]
Finland's first railway was opened betweenHelsinki andHämeenlinna in 1862,[15][16] and today it forms part of theFinnish Main Line (päärata), which is more than 800 kilometers long. Nowadays, passenger trains are operated by the state-ownedVR. They serve all the major cities and many rural areas, complemented by bus connections where needed. Most passenger train services originate or terminate atHelsinki Central railway station, and a large proportion of the passenger rail network radiates out of Helsinki. High-speedPendolino services are operated from Helsinki to other major cities likeJyväskylä,Joensuu,Kuopio,Oulu,Tampere andTurku. ModernInterCity services complement the Pendolino network, and cheaper and older long and short-distance trains operate in areas with fewer passengers.
The Helsinki area has threeurban rail systems: atramway, ametro, and acommuter rail system.Light rail systems are currently being planned forHelsinki and also forTurku andTampere, two of the country's other major urban centres.
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TheHelsinki metro is a 43-kilometer broad-gauge metro system that connects the center of Helsinki with the eastern districts and the westernEspoo. The capital region has the northernmost metro system in the world and the only one in Finland. The Helsinki metro was opened on August 2, 1982, initially betweenRautatientori andItäkeskus. On November 18, 2017,Länsimetro extended the metro lines from the inner city to the west, viaLauttasaari toTapiola andMatinkylä, and on December 3, 2022, all the way toKivenlahti.
There are plans to link Helsinki to Turku and Tampere by high-speed lines resulting in journey times of an hour between the capital and the two cities.[17] A link toKouvola is also planned. The estimated cost of these lines is €10 billion.
In Finland there have been two cities with trams:Helsinki andTampere. Of the older systems only Helsinki has retainedits tramway network. Thetrams in Viipuri, having been lost toSoviet Union in 1945, ceased operations in 1957, while theTurku tramway network shut down in 1972.
In November 2016,Tampere city council approved the construction of a newlight rail system. Construction of phase 1 begun late 2016 and finished in 2021. Tampere trams are already operating but the official opening date is 9 August 2021. Turku also has preliminary plans for new tram system, but no decision to build it has been made.
Helsinki currently operates 10 tramlines on a network of approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) of track in passenger service. The trams have annually 57 million passengers.[18][19]
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There are 148 airfields, 74 of which have paved runways.[20] 21 airports are served by scheduled passenger flights. By far the largest airport isHelsinki-Vantaa Airport, and the second largest by passenger volume isOulu Airport.[21] The larger airports are managed by the state-ownedFinavia (formerly the Finnish Civil Aviation Administration).Finnair,Nordic Regional Airlines andNorwegian Air Shuttle are the main carriers for domestic flights.
Helsinki-Vantaa airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places asBangkok, Beijing,Guangzhou,Nagoya,New York,Osaka, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location forgreat circle airline traffic routes between Western Europe and the Far East.[22] The airport is located approximately 19 kilometers north of Helsinki's downtown in the city ofVantaa, thus the name Helsinki-Vantaa.
Other airports with regular scheduled international connections areKokkola-Pietarsaari Airport,Mariehamn Airport,Tampere-Pirkkala Airport,Turku Airport andVaasa Airport.
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The Finnish Maritime Administration is responsible for the maintenance of Finland's waterway network. Finland's waterways includes some 7,600 kilometres (4,700 mi) of coastal fairways and 7,900 kilometres (4,900 mi) of Finland waterways (on rivers, canals, and lakes).Saimaa Canal connectsLake Saimaa, and thus much of the inland waterway system of Finland, with theBaltic Sea atVyborg (Viipuri). However, the lower part of the canal is currently located in Russia. To facilitate through shipping, Finland leases the Russian section of the canal from Russia (the original agreement with theSoviet Union dates to 1963).[23]
The largest general port is Port of Hamina-Kotka.Port of Helsinki is the busiest passenger harbour, and it also has significant cargo traffic.[24] By cargo tons, the five busiest ports are Hamina-Kotka, Helsinki, Rauma, Kilpilahti andNaantali.[25]
Icebreakers keep 23 ports open for traffic even in winter. The ports inGulf of Bothnia need icebreakers in average six months a year, while inGulf of Finland icebreakers are needed for three months a year.[26]
Frequent ferry service connects Finland withEstonia andSweden.Balticcruise liners regularly call on theport of Helsinki as well. In domestic service, ferries connect Finland's islands with the mainland. Finland's cargo portsmove freight both for Finland's own needs and fortransshipment to Russia.
Finland's canals are primarily located in inland waters. The canals of the Finnish sea area are mostly made for small boating. In terms of water traffic, a significant reason for canalization has been floating operations. For water management, canals have been built especially forLog driving and hydropower projects.
In order to lower and drain Lake Pohjalanjärvi, the depression of Rautajoki was deepened by canalization. The Finnish Waterways Association was founded in 1981 to promote the development of waterways and the construction of canals.
