HS Helsinki | You should be careful at Helsinki Central Station: Some of the clocks are on the wrong time, because they are there for scenic reasons

Helsinki passengers traveling at the main train station should be careful when looking at the clock. Some of the old analog clocks on the platforms are very late.

At worst, a careless passenger might miss his train due to looking at the wrong clock.

HS went to the main train station to check if the clocks on the platforms are on the right time. Times were checked last Friday.

Piers the clocks on the display boards at the end of the station were all at the same time. Instead, problems were found with the four analog clocks, which can be found further away when walking to the platform.

The old clocks each have two dials, one facing the station and the other facing away. If the dials are counted separately, there are a total of 26 analog clocks in the dock area. According to HS’s calculations, four of these were late.

On the pier The 1st clock, visible away from the station, was the worst in the comparison, i.e. about 29 minutes late. Next, the clock visible on the 8th furthest post of the platform facing the station, which was about 14 minutes behind, was lagging behind the most.

Both clocks on the old clock tower on the second platform were slightly off. The clock on the station side was about a minute behind the others. The clock visible away from the station was two and a half minutes behind.

The railway station the newer clocks are under VR, but the older ones are the responsibility of the Norwegian Railways Agency. Communication manager of the Finnish Railways Agency Hanna Ackley According to

“The analog clocks on the platforms no longer have a similar role in terms of passenger information, and they are there mainly for scenic reasons,” Ackley tells HS by email.

Since the technology of the watches is old, they may have faults.

“The watches are not being updated to newer technology and the repair of the watches is not prioritized as urgent,” says Ackley.