Finland reopens train service to Sweden, putting Europe in reach

OULU, Finland - A new passenger train service linking Finland to Sweden began running on Aug 10, creating a rail route stretching from northern Finland to southern Europe for the first time since the 1990s.The atmosphere at the Oulu train station in northern Finland was filled with excitement as passengers boarded a train headed for neighbouring Sweden early on Aug 10.Vaino Jalkanen, 37, woke up at dawn to witness the “historic” resumption of Finnish cross-border trains that were discontinued in 1988.“Now, it will be possible to travel from Paris to Rovaniemi, for example,” he told AFP as he had found his seat, referring to a city deep in central Finland.Services will run from Oulu on Finland’s north-west coast to Haparanda, Sweden, twice a day.From Haparanda, passengers can transfer to tr