Operator: VR
Headcode: PYO274
Route: ROV-HEL
Class: Sleeper Ensuite
Seat: C20, B201/202
Date: Monday 18th May 2026
Having enjoyed a few days staying in Rovaniemi and exploring the city and surrounding area, it was time for us to head back south to the Finnish capital to continue our Nordic Nomads adventure. As with the journey north from Helsinki, we’d be returning south onboard one of VR’s sleeper services which connect the northern extremities of the Finnish rail network with the cities of the Baltic coast. And so, at around 1915, we were back at Rovaniemi’s sparse station ready to catch the later of two southbound sleeper services between the Arctic Circle and Helsinki. You can read the other posts from our Nordic Nomads adventure here, here and here.
With our early arrival at the station, we were glad that the weather was good and enjoyed some time on a bench basking in the spring evening sun before the train arrived from Kemijärvi. Whilst departure from Rovaniemi isn’t until 2100, the train is scheduled to arrive at 2010, allowing time for a relaxed boarding process and for the car carrying wagons to be shunted onto the rear of the train. During our wait we were able to see the car carrying wagons get loaded and the local shunt loco take them around the station yard into position for when the train arrived, which to a rail geek like myself was pretty interesting.
The train, formed of a locomotive hauled set of carriages, arrived at 2008, having departed Kemijärvi just over an hour earlier and called at Misi enroute. Whilst the train has a 50-minute dwell, there is no delay to boarding with us being allowed to board and find our room as soon as the train arrived which also gave me an opportunity to head back out to the platform to get some photos of the loco. The dwell also allows for the sleeper service to slot into the timetable of the mostly single line section of route south of Rovaniemi and, as we made our way through the train to the bar car, a daytime Intercity service arrived at the end of its eight-hour journey from Helsinki.
We were settled in the bar car around 30 minutes before departure and got a beer, hot chocolate and two delicious cinnamon pastries for €17.70 which, given the size of the pastries and the general higher cost of things in the Nordics, seemed to be reasonable. On our way to the bar car we’d crossed paths with the guard who checked our tickets and as we sat enjoying our drinks, he came up to us to ask if we had ordered breakfast (we had) and whether we wanted it serving in our room or the dining car the following morning. Given on the way north we’d gotten a bit fed up of the same four walls of our room by the end of the journey, we decided to go for the bar car, especially as this would give us views out of both sides of the train.
The bar car was a lot more popular with a reasonable departure time compared to our journey north and its 2315 departure and, as we finished our drinks, the train departed Rovaniemi right on time at 2100. With this service running non-stop between Rovaniemi and Kemi around 90 minutes later, we sat enjoying the views in the bar car until around 2115 and then went to find some open seats in the normal seating carriage to enjoy the views on the other side of the train before heading to our room around 2200. Our room for this journey was at the other end of the carriage compared to our trip north and so was located next to the stairs and had a slightly different layout as a result.
Rather than underbed storage, this room had two large storage spaces beyond the beds in the space above the stairs, which provided more space but did mean having to lift one of our bags up to the top bunk to store it. We also managed to actually figure out how to use the shower on this train, with the sink swinging out and blocking the toilet to provide space to shower, which seems obvious but didn’t seem to be very well sign posted. Other than that, the room had the same amenities of power sockets, reading lights, a single folding seat and a tiny bin, along with the expected bunk beds, so everything we needed for a journey during which we’d mostly be asleep.
Between Muurola and Turvola we passed an empty log train sitting in a passing loop waiting to continue its journey north, before we then stopped near Turvola to allow IC27, the 1430 service from Helsinki to Rovaniemi to pass us. This Intercity service has a scheduled arrival time of 2245, so had a journey time of eight hours and 15 minutes, meaning its only four hours faster than the sleeper and we at least had a bed provided. After our brief pause, we continued our journey towards the coast and made the first scheduled stop of the trip at Kemi, which we departed at 2231, one minute late. After Kemi we were able to catch a glimpse of the Gulf of Bothnia before it was blocked by trees which became much of the view for the remaining half an hour or so before we settled down.
With calls at Oulu, Yliveska, Kokkola, Seinäjoki, Tampere and Toijala (Akaa) as we slept, I woke up between the latter and Hämeenliina to find the train was progressing well and we were still on time, with the stop at Hämeenliina coming shortly after 0700. Opening the blind, we were greeted to a rather grey day and, after another stop at Riihimäki where two shunt locos were sitting outside an engine shed, we headed to the bar car for breakfast around 0750. Beth had chosen the Train Traveller’s Brunch with beef ciabatta again, whilst I had gone for the Scandinavia Breakfast with berry porridge.
As we passed through the town of Järvepää we had slowed down to a crawl, eventually coming to a stand just before Ainola as it seemed we were following an ‘R’ commuter train stopping at all stations. As we were at a stand we alsohad IC40, the 0444 service from Vassa overtake us, before we started crawling forward again through Ainola. It became apparent that the reason for our slow progress were engineering works going on in the area to increase the number of lines, with a replacement station also being built for Ainola. After Ainola we passed a flying junction to the north of Kerava where the lines to/from Lahti diverge, with these lines formerly the route taken by sleeper and high-speed services to St Petersburg. These services were initially suspended during the Covid pandemic before being permanently terminated after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
There was some more slow running through Kerava itself where IC104, the 0401 service from Joensuu overtook us, however despite all the slow running, our stop at Tikkurila (Vantaa) surprisingly came on time. After this stop we had a short run into Pasila railway yard to detach the car carrying wagons, which get shunted from the rear of the train onto the motorail platforms ready for their owners to collect a little later. At Pasila there are expansive railway yards, with the motorail station along with a freight yard and train maintenance depot that appeared to service both the local and Intercity fleets for VR. After detaching the car carrying wagons, we departed the yard, stopping again a couple of minutes later at Pasila station, where those travelling with cars disembark for the short walk back to the motorail platforms.
Departing Pasila on time at 0909, we only had six minutes left of our 12-hour 15-minute journey, as we made the final run through northern Helsinki. Whilst only a few minutes run time, I always enjoy this short section of railway approaching Helsinki Central Station as the railway crosses over the parks and lakes between the Olympic Stadium and Central Station, providing for some lovely views of the vibrant Finnish capital. With this short run over, we arrived into Helsinki Central Station exactly on time at 0915, having travelled almost 900 kilometres from the edge of the Arctic Circle to the shores of the Gulf of Finland.
All in all I was impressed with VR and their sleeper services connecting northern Finland to Helsinki. The timings of this service southbound from Rovaniemi are possibly the best they could be with reasonable departure and arrival times, allowing for a decent amount of sleep without either a late night or early morning. The beds are pretty comfortable as sleeper trains go, the rooms have all the amenities you need for the overnight journey and the bar car provides a decent selection of refreshments both in the evening and for breakfast. Would I travel to and from the Arctic Circle again onboard a VR sleeper? Yes I would!
Lounge 0*
Seat/Facilities 4*
Food 4*
Service 5*
Punctuality 5*
Overall Rating 18/25 (read about my rating system here!)
