“The world has changed”: Finland will review the decision to switch to the Eurotrack

In 2022, Finland abandoned the idea of ​​switching to the Eurotrack, calling it economically unprofitable

The Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland will review the decision to refuse to transfer the country's railway track to the European standard. Finland, which became a NATO member in 2023, still uses the “royal” a track of 1524 millimeters (as in Russia and on the territory of other countries that were part of the USSR).

«We are studying how quickly, with what technologies and with what budget it would be possible to gradually change the width of the railway tracks in accordance with the European standard», – Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne said, Yle reports.

According to Ranne, the transition to Eurorail is "important from the point of view of security of supply, and it will have a positive effect on Finland".

Yle reminds that back in 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission suggested that Finland start using new railway tracks in accordance with the European standard – 1435 millimeters. At that time, the Ministry of Transport declared that changing the track width was economically unprofitable.

Now the Minister of Transport says that "the world has changed in recent years" and "from the point of view of security of supply, it would be important to have another railway connection with Sweden".