Repovedi National Park can be reached by train this year from the eve of May Day to the end of October.
Gray winter never seems to end, but in the evenings you can already smell the promising scent. Spring comes!
It makes you dream of summer trips.
Now there is great news from that area. Next summer, you can take a train from Helsinki to Repovede National Park and back from April 29 to October 28.
Last summer VR was introduced on an experimental basis the stoppage of Hillosensalmi located next to the national park. The experiment started during Midsummer and lasted until the middle of August. A total of 2,200 passengers traveled to Repovede and back during that period, an average of 35 passengers per day.
Our expedition group of three left on a Thursday morning in August by train from Helsinki towards Hillosensalmi and the national park. We toured Ketunlenki, swam, ate lunch at the campfire site and crossed the strait on the manually towed Ketunloss. We were in Helsinki before seven in the evening.
It was one of the best days of the summer.
Inspired by the success, VR has decided to extend the use of the Hillosensalmi downtime from a couple of months to a year and a half.
Someone you could ask if there was any point in the train journey.
The train tickets for three adults cost a total of 138 euros. On top of that came the bus rides between the train stop and the park, a total of 21 euros. With a private car, the trip would have been more than half cheaper if only gasoline is counted as costs.
The matter can be looked at from another point of view.
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It was one of the best days of the summer.
Low-carbon lifestyle consultant Michael Lettenmeier calculated the carbon footprint of the trip by both train and car. According to a calculation that gives direction, a round trip by car for one person would have produced 68 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, a train journey 6 kilograms. If three people had traveled in the car, the carbon footprint would have been 24 kilos per person – and a quarter of that by train.
Besides, if the train tickets were bought at a promotional price, a train trip for three adults to Repovede would have cost roughly the same as gasoline at the cheapest rate.
Next summer I plan to buy train tickets well in advance. Both the climate and the wallet will thank you.
Can be, that I’m not the only one. Now the national park should get busy and organize more hiking trails and campfire sites for day hikers. Otherwise, next summer Ketunloss can be very crowded.
The author is a journalist at Helsingin Sanomat
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