Night trains
Travel between the south and the north safely in your own cabin.
Night on a train
Let Lapland’s magic enchant you! You can now buy night train trips until April 2024, private cabins starting from EUR 49, cabins with shower starting from EUR 69.
Buy your ticket for a night train
Add a car on your trip from the passenger menu.
Onward connections to Lapland
Public transport to ski resortsNight trains run to Rovaniemi, Kolari and Kemijärvi. Hop on a bus, taxi or a rental car for to reach your final destination. You can also take your car along on your night train journey.
List of tips for the night train
We have compiled a list of practical tips for a night train journey, containing the best tips for an easy journey.
Train is the greenest choice for travel to the North
GETTING THE CLIMATE BACK ON TRACKTrain is the most environmentally friendly means of travelling. You can travel by train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and back 50 times, whereas the same amount of emissions is produced during only one round trip by car.
Enjoy delicious food on a night train
- There is a restaurant car on each night train that serves you until 2 a.m. and reopens in the morning at 4 a.m. The restaurant car does not take table reservations.
- Breakfast can only be ordered by pre-order at vr.fi.
- If you wish to enjoy your breakfast in your cabin, you can pre-order it on the vr.fi website from "Edit my journey" -> "Add breakfast". The order must be placed no later than 5 days before the journey and the breakfast is paid for at the time of the purchase. We will deliver the breakfast 120–30 minutes before your terminus.
- Explore the tasty breakfast packages on sale and enjoy your delicious and carefree journey.
- You can place your supper order with the conductor during ticket inspection and we will deliver the meal to your cabin. You can pay by debit or credit card upon delivery of your supper.
- If you have cancellation insurance and you have to cancel your journey, which includes breakfast ordered in advance from vr.fi, the cancellation insurance covers both the journey and the breakfast. Breakfast alone cannot be cancelled.
- If you change trains, the cancellation insurance will not cover breakfast cancellation.
- Please note that on the train service IC933 the restaurant is only open until 10.45 p.m. and reopens again at 2 a.m.
Timetables for night trains and car-carrier trains
We have published our new timetables, and you can now buy night train tickets until 14 Apr 2024.
View timetablesWould you like to travel in a private cabin?
We have sleeper cabins for various needs and situations. The cabin is always reserved for you or your group, we do not sell individual sleeping berths in cabins.
Upstairs or downstairs?
- Add luxury to your journey with an upstairs cabin which has a shower and toilet.
- The downstairs cabins are more inexpensive, with showers and toilets along the aisles.
- You can also choose to purchase a ticket for a seat, which usually has a lower price than a sleeper cabin.
- Cabins are for 1–2 or 1–3 people.
- You can also select an adjoining downstairs cabin (2 + 2 persons), with a partition that can be opened. You can book these cabins via our customer service.
- The cabins have bunk beds.
- Our night trains also have accessible and pet cabins.
- At the moment, we are not selling sleeping berths in shared cabins, which means that the cabin is always safely used by only you and your travel companions.
- Children between the ages of 0 and 10 travel on night trains for free when sharing a berth with another passenger. However, note that the beds are 0.75 metres wide and 2.00 metres long. Travelling will be more comfortable when you book separate beds for bigger children.
- Please make sure that an adult always accompanies a small child in the sleeper cabin. Here are more detailed tips for the night train if you are traveling with children
- For the time being, you can only buy seat tickets for night trains in the VR Matkalla app. Our aim is to have sleeper cabins available there as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience!
Santa Claus Express
The Santa train takes you comfortably from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. Visit the arctic circle, meet Santa Claus and see the spectacular northern lights.
Get inspired here
Save by booking your journey in advance
The earlier you buy, the more likely you are to get your ticket for the best price.
Enjoy audio books and e-books
Entertainment for the journeyWe are offering our customers a 60-day trial period to the Nextory audio book and e-book service with a catalogue of thousands of stories. You can read and listen to as many books as you want with your phone or tablet.
Most popular night train routes
Pets on night trains
Best travel comfort for petsTravel with your pet in a pet cabin for a EUR 4-8 surcharge per dog or pet carrier. The route usually includes some longer stops so you can take a walk. You can ask the conductor for more information.
Accessible travel on a night train
All night trains have accessible sleeper cabins which are located close to the car’s accessible entrance door. Accessible toilets are also located by the entrance. Guide, assistance or hearing dogs and pets travel with you free of charge.
Cars on night trains
Travel by night train and continue your journey well rested in the morning with your own car. A car spot starting from €39 and a motorcycle from €29, the price for a sleeper cabin + a car spot can be as inexpensive as €88 (cabin €49 and car €39).
Unforgettable experience for children
Travelling on a night train is easy even with the smallest family members. A real bed guarantees better sleep than dozing in the back seat. In the morning you're ready to continue the journey well rested.
Unforgettable experience for childrenWhere to put baggage?
Baggage usually fits well in the cabin, but in case you have a lot of it you can use the lockable storage space. Our conductors will gladly advice you with this.
Where to put baggage?Did you know?
The longest night trains are approximately 450 m long – almost half a kilometre.
Peak season for night trains
During the busiest nights in the ski season, as many as five night trains depart from Helsinki: two to Kolari and three to Rovaniemi.