Rail route of the month: gliding past Finland’s pristine forests and lakes

Our slow travel expert explores Finland’s borderlands with Russia as she embarks on a 300-mile journey from Helsinki to North Karelia

The monumental facade of Helsinki’s main railway station has an elegant symmetry. Four giant, granite men, each one holding a lantern, are there to greet me. It is before seven on a quiet Saturday morning and I am here on an eastbound mission, heading for the only passenger railway in the European Union to cross the 30th meridian east of Greenwich.

From its train number, Finland’s IC1 service sounds as though it should be the most prestigious train in the country, just as 50 years ago the number TEE 1 was reserved for the premium Trans-Europe Express which dashed nonstop from Paris to Bordeaux. Finland’s IC1 doesn’t dash anywhere, averaging just over 60 mph on the 300-mile journey through lakes and forests to Joensuu, the administrative centre of the region which Finns know as Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia). From Joensuu, it is another 100 miles and two hours on a local train to Nurmes, passing through gorgeous North Karelian countryside and crossing the 30th meridian along the way.