We will not write much about Finnish railways, although the organisation is very cyclist-friendly. Finland lies well to the north and east in Europe. It is at least a three day journey from Britain by train and ship to get there, so travelling to the country on the ground is only of interest to the railway or shipping enthusiast, or the seriously green. We think it would be quite an interesting trip.
Finland is lightly populated. There are long distance lines connecting the main centres of population with Helsinki. The proximity to Russia means that the railways in Finland have a network of 5,919 km of 1,524 mm (5 ft) gauge track which connects the major towns and cities mainly with Helsinki. Effectively the only operator is the state-owned VR.

Getting to Finland by train and ship
The easiest surface route for bicycles and their owners from the UK to Helsinki is the three-night trip (Hull – P&O or Harwich – Stena) via Europoort or Hook of Holland, then train via Rotterdam, Osnabrück and Hamburg to Travemünde or Rostock, and ship to Helsinki.
The only international passenger trains in Finland connect Helsinki with St Petersburg, Vyborg and Moscow. The Finnish gauge is similar enough to the Russian gauge at 1,520 mm to allow running trains backwards and forwards into Russia without changing bogies. There is a link westwards to the standard gauge Swedish system in Tornio in Lapland that does involve a bogey change system, but this is only used by goods trains. Bicycles can only be shipped to Russia if packed in a bag or box.

Tickets
There are first (Business) class tickets available on long distance trains. These cost at least 50% more than normal second class tickets.
Family tickets offer free travel to children between 6 and 16 accompanied by a fare paying adult.
Pensioners can purchase their tickets with a 50% discount.
Tickets can be booked on line, from VR station booking offices, VR sales agents, ticket vending machines and train conductors. The ticket may be delivered as an e-ticket (printed by the customer or sent in text message and multimedia format to the customer’s mobile phone, but not all phones are supported), or as a ticket sent to the customer by post, but only in Finland. The ticket may also be picked up at a ticket vending machine or a station booking office. Tickets to Russia cannot be booked online.

Website
Excellent and easy to use. Tickets may be bought online every day between 6.00-23.30 and paid for by a range of credit cards. www.vr.fi/en/index.html

Finish EDM sleeping car

Putting bikes on trains
Express Trains
The following train types take bicycles: Regional Trains, Express Trains, InterCity, InterCity2 and night trains.
Tandems and cycle trailers can be transported in those day and night express trains which transport luggage and in some other trains marked with a suitcase in timetables.
•    In express and regional trains, customers should bring the bicycle to the conductor’s van as with large luggage and collect it at the arrival station.
•    Customers should transfer their bicycle to another train themselves when changing trains.
•    Groups should make arrangements concerning transport of bicycles in advance.
Paying for your bicycle in advance at a VR station costs €5, a bicycle and trailer cost €10, and a tandem, booked in advance at a VR station costs €18. If you pay the on-board conductor it will cost €20.

InterCity Train
Bicycle spaces must be booked in advance from VR Customer Care or a station booking office, i.e. not online.
Customers should bring their bicycle to the bicycle space in the double-decker wagon of InterCity trains. It is possible to lock the bicycle with a 50 cent coin as deposit. The coin is returned when the bicycle is removed from the stand after the journey.
InterCity trains do not take tandems or cycle trailers. A bicycle booked with a passenger costs €9.

Overland bus and coach
There is an extensive network of overland buses in Finland run by a number of different, cooperating bus companies under the umbrella Expressbus. These buses will take bicycles as long there is room. It is necessary to reserve places in advance and charges may apply.

Ferries
It is possible to reach Finland by ferry from Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden.

Diversions
We have never been to Finland. One of us is allergic to mosquito bites.