Overview | |
---|---|
Area served |
Uusimaa, Päijänne Tavastia, Tavastia Proper Finland |
Locale |
Greater Helsinki Finland |
Transit type | Commuter rail |
Number of lines | 15 |
Number of stations | 44 in the HSL region 70 in total |
Daily ridership | 194 500 per weekday (2016 average) |
Website |
https://www.hsl.fi/en https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage |
Operation | |
Began operation | 1969 |
Operator(s) | VR on behalf of HSL |
Technical | |
System length | 99.2 km (62 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,524 mm (60.0 in) |
Electrification | 25 kV / 50 Hz |
Average speed | 54 km/h (34 mph) |
Top speed | 120 to 160 km/h |
Helsinki commuter rail (Finnish: Pääkaupunkiseudun lähiliikenne, Swedish: Huvudstadsregionens närtrafik, literal translation Local traffic of the capital region) is the commuter rail system serving Greater Helsinki, Finland. The network is part of the HSL network, and is operated by VR, the Finnish state-owned national railway company. Together with the Helsinki Metro, buses, and trams, the network forms the heart of Helsinki's public transportation infrastructure.
Trains run primarily above ground in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Within the municipalities of Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, and Vantaa, the system uses tickets that are interchangeable with the bus, metro, and tram networks managed by HSL. Traveling beyond Kerava and Kirkkonummi uses VR commuter tickets. HSL's area is completely within VR zones A, B, and C.
The network is composed of 15 separate services, pictured in the network map below. They operate on four branches of railway lines that all begin, and terminate, at the Helsinki Central railway station. The system has a total of 70 stations, 14 of which are located within the city of Helsinki. There are about 676 departures every weekday. The commuter rail services carried a total 55.1 million passengers in 2011.