The Secret Finnish Commuter Train Nobody Talks About

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Finland is well-known for its extensive rail network, and on KZbin, the spotlight often shines on the country's excellent long-distance night trains with their comfortable sleeper cabins. You might also find videos about their daytime long-distance trains or even their regular commuter trains. However, I bet you haven't heard about this unique commuter train that runs just five times a week. It's the only train in Finland that uses rare, old-school commuter cars from the 1980s. Join me for a trip on the special Z commuter train to Kouvola and discover its intriguing backstory!
Train type: Vr Sr2 + Eil Commuter Cars
Route: Helsinki to Kouvola
Train: HLV 233
Distance: 165km
Journey time: 2h1m
Average speed: 82 km/h
Price: 15.60€

[@jopu7004]

The train sits at Lahti for 8 minutes so the conductor has time to lock the last 2 carriages out of use due to short platforms

[@DANIELZZITRAINSPOTTING]

@simonandersen look at this comment

[@Simon-Andersen]

That makes a ton of sense! Thanks for sharing

[@finnishrailways1069]

But wasn't he sitting in the last carriage?

[@griffonboi]

@@finnishrailways1069 would be locking out the platform doors, so that way you wouldn't be stepping out onto nothing at a station

[@Potatwielder]

​​@@finnishrailways1069 He switched seats in Lahti. You can see him enter a carridge closer to the front at 8:42 and also for extra confirmation see that he walks forward in the train to get to his seat at 10:37.

[@ttsirkia]

There are still lots of red inside the wagons. These used also be painted dark red outside before the current white and green appearance was taken into use. In early days the long-distance wagons were dark blue so these commuter wagons could be easily distinguished.

[@daandanx]

No wonder i thought "ha, these are like the most common trains around!" considering i am from Kouvola

[@ratyjoona]

Yep! I think those also run to Kotka. I used to live in Kouvola and used this one in this Spring if I remember correctly.

[@csongorvarga]

I did my last year of uni in HUT in Helsiki in 2000, and I remember seeing these "Re 460" locos back than. I think these are the best looking modern locos by far.

[@markusstudeli2997]

Even better looking in SBB red. I hope they will continue running for a while.

[@Som09mer]

@@markusstudeli2997the last truly „swiss made“ locos RIP SLM

[@carleryk]

Helsinki's main railway station is truly beautiful! Since I'm Estonian I've visited it many times. It would be awesome if Tallinn's historic main railway station would still exist, but it was unfortunately demolished by the Soviets during occupation, and replaced by boring and characterless 'garage'. The historic building was finished in 1870 and was made after Otto Rudolf von Knüpffer's plans.

[@bjornlillpers498]

We have something somewhat similar in Stockholm as well. Trains 785/782 Stockholm - Hallsberg and return is a once-daily peak time loco hauled service via Västerås and Örebro. It was always an interesting drive back in my days as a Hagalund driver, both because I rarely got to drive the line as I wasn't qualified on the X40 EMU, and because the 8-coach train was too long for many of the platforms on the line.

[@Agamemnon2]

This was a fun one, I didn't know any of these old commuter cars were still in service. The next few years are going to be interesting for Finnish trains, with the Sm6 units of the former Allegro trains (to Russia) returning in domestic service next year, and the new Sm7 Flirt trains due to start service in 2026. I think the first non-VR commuter services are also due to begin within a few years, with a private operator currently overhauling a dozen old Sm2 units to modernize them.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Lots of cool things happening, looking forward to revisiting over the next few years

[@jfogerty77]

Did you know there is a connection between Helsinki railway station and the Gateway Arch -monument in St Louis? Their architects were father and son, Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen.

[@Simon-Andersen]

No but that is very interesting!

[@tomcrame1842]

Taken it twice but never all the way to Kouvola - both times I had Sr1 haulage which was a treat!

[@Simon-Andersen]

Man i was hoping it would be a Sr1 but unfortunately not that day

[@Kromaatikse]

@@Simon-Andersen The Sr1 is only capable of 140kph, so using it would negate the 160kph capability of the carriages which you mentioned. I think the Sr1 is still used quite often on the slower lines where 140kph is as much as you get anyway, and for freight traffic.

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@Kromaatikse You are right, but actually quite often you do get Sr1 on this train. (I guess its because there a shit ton of them in Kouvola and not that many Sr2) For instance last tuesday and monday it was Sr1 on duty juliadata.fi/timetables?s=233&d=10.9.2024

[@Itapirkanmaa2]

The Sr1 is in fact capable of 160kph, and some units were set for the higher speed for some time but then restored back. It's only required a setting of the limiter a bit higher, I know someone who was working with the Strömberg control electronics who said that.

[@Kromaatikse]

@@Itapirkanmaa2 Right, but there would be a reason why it's normally set to 140kph. Adjusting the limiter like that would be normal practice for attaining the 10% overspeed required in service acceptance tests, but there is probably a significant increase in motor wear and track forces at the higher speed. Note that in order to run in commercial service at 160kph, they would need to run acceptance tests at 176kph.

[@theexcaliburone5933]

That's the nicest looking modern station I've ever seen

[@altti1]

I love them, they feel so special as all the other lines are driven with EMU's

[@korgianalogue706]

Rode these many times, and I'm a weirdo and love them! I miss these carriages because of the windows that have the latches that you can open, and the cloth curtains are really cozy. I'm surely in the minority but I love sweltering summer train rides in the older trains, letting the warm breeze blow in from the window. The new trains are more modern and have better AC, but I like the down-to-earthness of the older styles, and have fond memories of riding them across the country as a kid a lot.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Nothing wrong with that, some old trains will just be special, but i think most commuters now value AC :P

[@DANIELZZITRAINSPOTTING]

Finland again💪🏻

[@juliuseskola1281]

We had a lot of these Eil wagons waiting to be scrapped on the Turku railyard. Brings back middle school memories when one of the junkies in our class brought an emergency hammer with him. They had taken them whilst vandalizing the old carriages lol. Btw one of the most interesting experiences was with VRs ”Pendolino replacement service”, which consisted mostly of blue wagons, but also had the last single-decker first class carriage in Finland. It had been removed from regular service after Allegro replaced the Sibelius service with single-decker IC carriages and the first class carriage which was a refurbished blue carriage in the original IC livery.

[@stefanholmstrom68]

It was really sad to see the way those wagons were just left to be destroyed in Turku, just a stone's throw (pun intended) from the centre of Turku.

[@juliuseskola1281]

@@stefanholmstrom68 Yep, there’s rumors that VR quickly scrapped them because they didn’t want competitors to have reasonably priced rolling stock available :-O

[@saltedpopcorn2424]

I'd like to correvt you, on these trainsets there is a toilet in every carriage. At one end. The one special carriage (eilf) has the conductors cabin, thus the different layout.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Really? I walked through the entire train but only spotted it at the eilf carriage. I don't doubt I might have missed it somehow 😆

[@saltedpopcorn2424]

@@Simon-Andersen at one end of each carriage, where the vestibule to the next carriage is! This is also something that makes it a quite unique commuter service, the large amount of toilets compared to more modern EMUs

[@mariadelmarjimenezarroyo]

Excellent video

[@ihmesekoilua]

the old long range trains back in the day used to have ridiculously comfortable seats

[@jannejohansson3383]

Oh boy, I have one brown colored class1 seat from old scrapped sinivalkoinen. It's like sofa.

[@JanneSala]

Hah, I took this almost every day in high school, because I'd take the 16:35 train when commuting home to Mäntsälä. It really is a fun nostalgic train.

[@martinstilton1535]

Saw this train a few weeks ago whilst I was in Helsinki. I remember when these carriages were used on the commuter services to Riihimäki and you'd see several rakes in the sidings overnight there.

[@markusstudeli2997]

There seems to be a nice tradition of VR buying Swiss rolling stock with the Stadler Flirts replacing the RE 460 hauled carriages.

[@alevans51]

Thank you for sharing this. Its beautiful from beginning and on and on.

[@pettahify]

Ah yes, the electric outlet used by the cleaning crew! Classic! When the new commuter EMUs were ordered to stockholm they didnt order them with a bunch of outlets, just the ones used for cleaning. After a while they put up stickers pointing people to the few available outlets. Of course, the next batch of emus had more outlets since they realised their mistake.

[@laju]

You should consider not using those cleaning outlets on these trains since the electricity isn't made by on board inverters but take the power straight from the transformer which in turn gets it from the 1500 V supply from the locomotive. There isn't any filters between the outlet and the overhead wire, just two transformers stepping the voltage down. It could be quite messy and could fry your charger...

[@kaffeetasse9455]

@@laju Never had any problems using chargers on these kinds of outlets, even with 16.7 Hz most are working just fine.

[@laju]

@@kaffeetasse9455 I personally haven't fried any chargers, but I have heard from the train staff that it has happened (I'm a train driver myself). I have tried to charge my phone from a "dirty" outlet on a locomotive and while the phone showed it was charging it gained somethin like 2 % in a half an hour after which the charger was hot as hell.

[@daviddobson6108]

Hello from USA. Thank you for an enjoyable and informative video, in perfect English.

[@chenseanxy]

oh no guy went to Kouvola

[@Simon-Andersen]

I luckily survived it 💪

[@vjet]

It’s so refreshing to see rolling stock and infrastructure that hasn’t been mindlessly tagged, graffitied or vandalised. Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing Scandinavia, it’s working. 👍🏻

[@aviano72]

Cool to see Helsinki train station close up as it is one of the models in TpF2 It sounds like you say it's from 1990, but it is from 1919

[@foxxero]

He definitely says 1919

[@Simon-Andersen]

It's the Danish accent, we trend to be a bit weak on the letters at the end of a word 😁

[@getrelaxed3848]

I took these trains many times, the fastest it ever went was 160km/h, going from Oulu to Helsinki feels long as heck.

[@Klarud]

I see the beauty of the Kouvostoliitto is well known to foreigners as well, loved the reference images 😄

[@KoichiFirst8092]

I remember being at the Helsinki main station and riding the Allegro to St Petersburg and back in 2017. I also have a photo of an Sm2 in white and red, the old VR livery.

[@eimantas314-rblx]

Great video

[@Esperpritzie]

The service is also pretty cool due to the fact it’s loco hauled and it also every now and then is hauled by the older Sr1 locomotives. I have taken lots of vids of the HLV trains. P.S I adore your videos and love the fact that you have the Sr3 Siemens Vectron as ur channel picture

[@ManunKanava]

8:44 "the most beautiful city" 😂 Definedly the most beautiful

[@jannejohansson3383]

Kouvostoliitto

[@paulthiel5145]

Excellent video, but did notice some creative borrowing of the TimTraveller catchphrase 😁

[@Simon-Andersen]

I love Tims videos, must have subcutaneously picked it up form him :D

[@girf4233]

Some fun facts: the Z-line is lovingly known as "Zetori" which is a Czech tractor manufacturer lol. I think the joke is about the comfort of the trip towards Kouvola (which is a meme city in Finland people love to hate.) To add to this the trip between Helsinki central railwaystation and Pasila is known as "linnunlaulu" or "bird's song". Because its fast and comfortable.

[@olli999]

Video suggestion: ride the T train (also known as tuskajuna) from Riihimäki to Helsinki at 4am with the drug addicts and drunken people 👍

[@miggis]

finland 😍

[@2712animefreak]

These seem to be almost identical to the common intercity rolling stock in Croatia, although we also have compartment cars. These carriages even have buttons for opening the doors and those handles for the doors between the carriages, so you don't have to fight the doors while hauling two suitcases and a backpack. We still have some manual ones.

[@Geenimetsuri]

The toilets in those carriages are the best. Always work, and tend to be in a decent shape as there's nothing expensive that can break.

[@perunapelaaja_1772]

i gotta say, as someone who was been a lot on these trains, I would hate seeing them go since they feel so homey

[@aarnililja5599]

Great video Simon👍💯 You're the best railway youtuber ever🏆 How was your summer? My summer was terrible cuz i've got broken arm around a month ago. But lucklily cast will be of on 25.9 in around week🎉.

[@Simon-Andersen]

I had a great summer! I hope yours was still enjoyable despite the injury

[@aarnililja5599]

​@@Simon-Andersen Rest of summer was okay😊

[@VMH1009]

About 2 to 3 years ago one Pendolino train broke so VR used those vagons to get passengers from Kouvola to Kuopio.

[@timbrust9739]

Recently I got some nice pictures of these sets in the depot, while I was also looking to photograph the rolling stock sitting there that used to be deployed to St Peterburg before the invasion/war. If I'd known you were in Helsinki I'd have loved to join you or spot your train, hope you come again.

[@Simon-Andersen]

I'll for sure be back in Finland again! Looking forward to the Allegos being put back in service

[@Beguwula]

I actually have seen that specific train once

[@Ghfvhvfg]

A Re 460 with a auto coupler intresting love to see it here we are using hooks like we had no tecnical upragdes for centuries

[@BengtHansves]

I remember the distinctive scent of the coal heated/fired SZD/RZD sleeper carriages ... ;-)

[@ratyjoona]

Well...me living in the middle of nowhere in Finland we still got diesel trains with perhaps even older carriages.

[@artokmt]

You could test VR trains in Sweden, Stockholm-Göteborg..

[@Simon-Andersen]

Waiting for a few more of them to be repainted :)

[@mattegeniet]

4:15: That seems to be an A train. Those go to Leppävaara (A for "Alberga", the swedish name of Leppävaara), which although in Espoo, never goes all the way to the station named Espoo, not to mention Kirkkonummi. E trains continue to Espoo, but not to Kirkkonummi either. Only U, L, X and Y trains go all the way, of which U is the only one to go regularly throughout the day.

[@_htv]

well no X trains anymore

[@Simon-Andersen]

Thats why i said "The line towards" a refrence to the railway itself, not a specific station or service operated :-)

[@Letsgobyland]

the design of the trees on the train is funny 😀

[@Kauppamopo]

wait what are kouvola-jokes known worldwide? 😂

[@jfmezei]

82kmh for what is considered a commuter train is pretty amazing. Nitpick: you mentions "catching one of the few C trains that extend to Kouvola at 01:38 of your video and later, but the display shows it is a Z ( prounouced ZED unless you are in USA). Montréal Canada has has a similar arrangement on one line with most trains ending at Vaudreuil and one (now two) extended to Hudson. The two trains that extend to Hudson return to Vaudreuil after trip to Hudson to spend the night since EXO (train operator) has a yard and small maintenance facility. In the days of CP Rail, one train was extended to Rigaud (further west) and would overnight there (so crews had to commute to/from Rigaud). There was no point returning the train to Dorion since CP Rail had no maintenance facility there, just a yard. ( EXO built new station and maintenance facility in Vaudreuil between Dorion and Hudson, it did not exist in the days of CP Rail running service). The logistics of how you handle the trains overnight often dictate some of those odd service patterns that extend past your main "terminus" for a line. In the days of CP Rail, it puts its best train (air conditions, double deck gallery cars) on the 17:15 to Rigaud and it was express to Beaconsfield and then made stops, so it was their most popular train with older equipment on the other trains. The double deck train was reversible so did not need to be turned at Rigaud (though CP still had a wye there (gone now, as are the tracks).

[@Simon-Andersen]

I guess it depends on the accent regarding 'C' or 'Z.' We are taught a mix of American and British English here in Denmark, but I might have picked it up from watching American KZbin videos :P Interesting facts about the Canadian rail network! I'd love to be back in Canada at some point to try out more of the weird and funky commuter trains, and of course, the REM (I missed it by a few months)

[@TheGhostofCarlSchmitt]

haha the train I ride home after spending time in Helsinki! Last ridden on Sunday!

[@Simon-Andersen]

That would be impressive because this train does not run regulary on sundays :P

[@TheGhostofCarlSchmitt]

@@Simon-Andersen sorry I expressed myself badly; what I mean is that that is the line with which I go home. I am not a train expert😂

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@TheGhostofCarlSchmitt no need to be sorry I gotcha now 😆 Never know in my comment section how train nerdy people are 😅

[@amadeuz819]

I would argue that Pasila is more important if you exclude the local trains(maybe even if you include HSL Pasila is the station west"Espoo" meats north"Vantaa"), like they should make Pasila the main station and only have local train go to that dead end station. Dunno how Tampere scores but I would assume its bigger than Helsinki because of being like in the middle of every route. For local traffic then Helsinki is probably biggest.

[@jeesjees2]

>Showing toilets on an old SM2 train *nervous laughter* Atleast you know where the finnish saying "toimii kuin junan vessa" or "works (properly), like a train's toilet" come from. Straight to the tracks, and nothing in between to break or malfunction.

[@TeddyRadko]

Finding this one day after coming back from Helsinki is wild. Were we there at the same time?

[@Simon-Andersen]

Nope! Filmed in August, i don't edit that fast haha

[@itsmemaario]

8:44 Oh, thats funny man. The Soviet Republic of Kouvola aka Kouvostoliitto.

[@tanelipirinen]

Great video, though I was expecting to see something exciting and not the train I use several times per month 😂

[@Simon-Andersen]

Haha thanks! Was bound to get this video recommended to at least one who use this train

[@gunj-k7t]

Eil on top fr

[@coda5998]

nice Re 460 Locomotive

[@santeripit7740]

Recently I went on an R train to Järvenpää on the R line and it was that train

[@Simon-Andersen]

Intresting, i don't think that happens very often. You sure it was not a Sm2? They have a similar old interior.

[@santeripit7740]

@@Simon-Andersen I'm sure it was that one, because they had those exact same chairs and I sat on that tip-up seat.

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@santeripit7740 oh wow! That does not happen very often, so that's quite a rare catch :D

[@maxjohkna]

Haarajoki, of course, not to be confused with Harajuku

[@hornantuutti5157]

I dare you to take train to siuntio and then make video aboit how to get back to helsinki

[@tepon1fani]

Naakka etsi hyönteisiä veturin keulasta.

[@henrikmanitski1061]

It's an all-you can-eat buffet 😀

[@JuhaVnt]

Beautiful station and Kouvola station… Simon, really? 🤣🤣🤣

[@Simon-Andersen]

I just love concrete

[@JuhaVnt]

I dont have problem with that, Simon. Kouvola is the city where my family is from. Are you coming back to Finland any time soon? You need to come to our Museum Locomotive society at Haapamäki. Would be nice to show you around 😊

[@Finnishtrains]

Sad that you had a Sr2 locomotive when you traveled. It would be nice if you'd had a Sr1 loco from 1973

[@Simon-Andersen]

I was really hoping for it but didn't have luck with the random loco generator that day :(

[@Finnishtrains]

@@Simon-Andersen By the way have you tested the Light rail? Are you making a video of It? Plz

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@Finnishtrains Yes i filmed it on this trip, but it will probably be a while before i get around to edit it.

[@Dehhoy]

the train was close to my house

[@SvenErik_Lindstrom3]

I talk about this all the time.

[@Simon-Andersen]

And even if you dont upgrade to 350 kmh at first, you could just put a proper night train on the route like we have in europe...

[@Dogpilot_NordKS]

Well there's an even more unknown type of rail, the Finnish railbus network, tehere aren't that many routes but they're quite cool, you just won't find them in Helsinki. Which Helsinki is an awful city...

[@konemieskou]

Rail buses have had a lot of problems in recent years. They are so small that VR has had to transport some passengers on buses when the train is full. A few rail buses have already ended up being scrapped, so there is also a shortage of them.

[@Dogpilot_NordKS]

@@konemieskou I know...

[@Simon-Andersen]

Yes they are not excatly amazing but quite cool! I did a very little video on them back when i lived in Finland kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXnRqISFbtWJm6s

[@flowey4875]

When was this filmed?

[@ssalovaa]

not the last one. g train lahti-riihimäki is an old train.

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@ssalovaa No, Lathi Rihimaki is a Sm2 which is different from this on and still used on many lines, like R in the peak or the Kotka line

[@tarkatan971]

the istanbul to sivas train in Turkiye is something you have to see❤️❤️

[@dandeson9723]

Worst one there is, good luck getting a double stroller in there.

[@eesti919]

Are you also visiting the Baltics?

[@Simon-Andersen]

I'm coming to Lithuania fairly soon!

[@eesti919]

@@Simon-Andersen Awesome! Estonia too would like to have a word.

[@Simon-Andersen]

@@eesti919 Probably when the new Skoda trains arrive, i did a video on the flirts a few years ago :D kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5yUYYavn8mdsKMsi=nmpxQ2L1gH80BtQr

[@nose10620]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@karihamalainen9622]

Who makes these cr...pppp truth articles?

[@ЦзинКэ-ы5х]

0:32 Как же похорошел Киев при Кличко

[@jeannelundandersen3707]

First 👍

[@Xerdoz]

Long-distance? Finland is a tiny country.

[@Simon-Andersen]

Since when did this become a dick measuring contest? Finland has plenty of 900km+ / 8 hours+ train trips, if that is not long distance please educate on what to call those trains instead.

[@alainchiaroni5149]

Finland is one of the largest European countries. Over 1600 km from Helsinki to northern Lapland. 338.000 square kilometers is more than the UK, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and all central and Eastern European countries.

[@nelchnelch]

Pig flag on the Helsinki main station - shame to finland

[@m1ro]

Never has there been a more apt surname than yours, moskal

[@Newbyte]

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 Glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

[@nelchnelch]

@@Newbyte gloryhole

[@robbe2508]

The flag has a rightful place there. Finland stands in solidarity with Ukraine against larger aggressors.

[@mikrokupu]

wow.. the RUS trolls have an offical uniform 👀

[@kiitokurre]

Traisn in Finland are not reliable so better use bus

[@mikaveekoo]

Ja aina löytyy se yksi oman pesän likaaja. 😖

[@Simon-Andersen]

That really depends. I'll take a VR Double Decker over an Onnibus any day. Can actually work on the train and sit comfortably, unlike those tiny bus seats with flimsy tables

[@Onnikka78]

they are reliable

[@kiitokurre]

@@mikaveekoo ottiko tunteisiin tostuus ?

[@mikaveekoo]

@@kiitokurre Yle, Posti, VR ja verottaja, siinä Suomen kansan sylkykupit. VR oli kolmosena euroopan rautateiden laatuvertailussa. Edellä vain Sveitsi ja Tanska. Vedä siitä. 😳

[@FinnishSpotting]

Hey, were you in finland a little bit ago, because if that was yesterday I saw your train.

[@vulc1]

Suomi mainittu!!

[@Simon-Andersen]

Filmed in August, I don't edit that fast :)