| Finnish Main Line | |
| Native Name: | Finnish: Päärata
|
| Start: | Helsinki |
| End: | Oulu |
| Owner: | Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency |
| Linelength Km: | 810 |
| Tracks: | 4 (Helsinki—Kytömaa,Ainola—Purola,)2 (Kytömaa—Ainola,Purola—Lielahti, Pohjois-Louko—Lapua,Kokkola-Ylivieska)1 (Lielahti—Pohjois-Louko,Lapua—Kokkola) |
| Routenumber: | 3, 7 |
| Linenumber: | I, K, M, P, R, T, Z |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The Finnish Main Line (Finnish: Päärata; Swedish: Stambanan) is a 810km (500miles) long electrified group of mainlines(Helsinki-Riihimäki,Riihimäki-Tampere,Tampere-Seinäjoki-Seinäjoki-Oulu) commonly called the Finnish Main Line in Finland between the cities of Helsinki and Oulu. The Main Line was first opened on March 17, 1862; at that point, the 108km (67miles) railway line only ran from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna.[1] [2]
The railway serves Helsinki, Riihimäki, Hämeenlinna, Tampere, Parkano, Seinäjoki, Kokkola, Ylivieska and Oulu. The future Suomirata project aims to improve the current Riihimäki–Tampere section by either building additional tracks alongside the existing main line or an entirely new straight line.[3] The goal is to reduce the travel time from Tampere to Helsinki from the current 1 hour 33 minutes to about an hour.[3]