Helsinki Central railway station

Helsinki Helsingfors
Location	Asema-aukio, 00100 Helsinki Stationsplatsen, 00100 Helsingfors
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 Group
Platforms	19 (originally 8)
Connections	Rautatientori metro station   Helsinki tram 2, 3, 4, 4T, 6, 7A, 7B, 9, 10   Helsinki buses
Construction
Structure type	ground station
Disabled access	7
History
Opened	1862 (current station building: 1919)
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 railway station (Finnish: Helsingin päärautatieasema, Swedish: Helsingfors centralstation) (IATA: HEC) is a widely recognised landmark in Kluuvi, part of central Helsinki, Finland, and the focal point of public transport in the Greater Helsinki area. The station is used by approximately 200,000 passengers per day, making it Finland's most-visited building. It serves as the point of origin for all trains in the local VR commuter rail network, as well as for a large proportion of long-distance trains in Finland. The station also hosts the Rautatientori metro station, which is the busiest station of the Helsinki Metro.

On 7 June 2010, the station was officially renamed Helsingin päärautatieasema-Helsingfors centralstation (Helsinki main, or central, railway station, in Finnish and Swedish), replacing the previous official name Helsingin rautatieasema-Helsingfors järnvägsstation (Helsinki railway station). The Finnish transport bureau use "Helsinki C" as a shorthand, and there were erroneous news reports that this shorthand would also be taken into official use. The Turku Central railway station was renamed in a similar manner.

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

The station is mostly clad in Finnish granite, and its distinguishing features are its clock tower and the two pairs of statues holding the spherical lamps, lit at night-time, on either side of the main entrance. Animated characters based on the statues have recently been featured in some major advertising campaigns by Finland's government-owned railway operator VR, to the extent of releasing rap singles allegedly sung by Kivimiehet ("The stone men").