Finland will not agree to the European Commission's proposed changes to railway gauges, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Timo Harakka (SDP), has announced.

As previously reported, the European Commission has proposed that all new railway connections should be built using the European standard gauge of 1435 millimetres, and that a plan should be developed to transition the majority of existing railway connections to this gauge as well. Finland's standard railway gauge is 1524 millimetres, which is close to the gauge used in Russia.

At the beginning of August, Mr Harakka stated that the proposed transition to a narrower gauge is unjustified and unacceptable to Finland. He added that the country should be granted an exemption from the requirement to switch to the European gauge. "Finland does not agree to these railway gauge changes, and I believe that our views will be heard in future discussions," he commented, emphasising that the country's "special circumstances" must be taken into account. "Changing the railway gauge would not be economically or functionally viable. Such important decisions should not be taken in haste; instead, their impact should be properly assessed."

The European Commission has stated that a narrower gauge should not be introduced on old connections if it is not justified by a cost-benefit analysis.

The Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications also pointed out that connections where construction began before the EU regulation came into force will not be considered as new connections. This requirement would, however, apply to railway sections planned by project companies, such as those planning the eastern railway connection. The requirement would "possibly" also apply to the company planning a new high-speed rail connection between Helsinki and Turku, but only regarding the new section between Espoo and Salo. (...)