Helsinki Central Station

Helsinki Helsingfors
VR long-distance train and HSL commuter rail interchange station
Location	Kaivokatu 1, Helsinki Finland
Coordinates	60°10′19″N 24°56′29″E / 60.17194°N 24.94139°E / 60.17194; 24.94139Coordinates: 60°10′19″N 24°56′29″E / 60.17194°N 24.94139°E / 60.17194; 24.94139
Owned by	Finnish Transport Agency
Operated by	VR
Tracks	19
Construction
Structure type	ground station
Other information
IATA code	HEC
History
Opened	1862 originally 1919 current building
Traffic
Passengers	about 200,000 daily
Services
Preceding station   VR commuter rail   Following station Terminus Y Pasila toward Siuntio X Pasila toward Kirkkonummi U L E Pasila toward Kauklahti A Pasila toward Leppävaara I/P Pasila toward Helsinki Central D Pasila toward Riihimäki R T N Pasila toward Kerava K Z Pasila toward Lahti Preceding station   Finnish Railways   Following station Terminus Helsinki-Tampere Pasila toward Tampere Helsinki-Turku Pasila toward Turku Harbour Helsinki-Lahti Pasila toward Lahti
Location
Helsinki Central The location of the station in Helsinki.

Helsinki Central Station (Finnish: Helsingin päärautatieasema, Swedish: Helsingfors centralstation) (IATA: HEC) is the main station for commuter rail and long-distance trains departing from Helsinki, Finland. The station is used by approximately 400,000 people per day, of which about 200,000 are passengers. It serves as the terminus for all trains in the Helsinki commuter rail network, as well as for all Helsinki-bound long-distance trains in Finland. The Central Railway Station metro station is located in the same building.

The station building was designed by Eliel Saarinen and inaugurated in 1919. Helsinki Central was chosen as one of the world's most beautiful railway stations by BBC in 2013.

Helsinki's first railway station was built in 1862 to accommodate trains on the Helsinki-Hämeenlinna line, päärata. The station's plans were drawn by Swedish architect Carl Albert Edelfelt. However, as the popularity of railways grew, the station turned out to be too small, and a contest was organised in 1904 with the intention of producing plans for a new station. The contest received 21 entries, and was won by Eliel Saarinen, with a pure national romanticist design, which sparked off a vigorous debate about the architecture of major public buildings, with demands for a modern, rational style. Saarinen himself abandoned romanticism altogether and re-designed the station completely. The new design was finished in 1909 and the new station building was opened in 1919.

President Kyösti Kallio died at the station on 19 December 1940 of a heart attack while going back home to Nivala after having retired as President. Legend says he died in the arms of Carl Mannerheim.