Finlyandsky Rail Terminal

Finlyandsky Rail Terminal regional rail
Finland Rail Terminal
Station statistics
Address	5, Lenin's sq. St. Petersburg, Russia
Connections	metro station Ploshchad Lenina
Structure	at-grade
Platforms	5 island platforms
Tracks	10
Other information
Opened	1870
Rebuilt	1960
Electrified	1952
Code	03820
Fare zone	0

Finlyandsky Rail Terminal (Russian: Финля́ндский вокза́л, Finlyandsky vokzal), also known as Finland Station, is a railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia handling transportation to northern destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg.

Trains from Helsinki arrive at the terminal, except for a transit train to Moscow which runs through Ladoga Rail Terminal. The terminal is also one step in creating a high speed rail line between Saint Petersburg and Helsinki. The railway companies are upgrading track on that route to accommodate faster trains.

The main entrance to the metro station Ploshchad Lenina is in the main building of Finland Station.

Before Dawn on Wednesday 1st April 2009 a bomb exploded in the statue of Lenin, creating a 80cm-100cm hole in the back of the statue. ^[1]

History

The station was built by Finnish State Railways as the eastern terminus of the Riihimäki-Saint Petersburg railroad. It was designed by Swedish architects and opened in 1870. The terminal formerly contained a special pavilion for Russian royalty.

The station was owned and operated by Finnish railways until early 1918, when the last train, carrying station personnel and equipment, plus some of the last Finns escaping revolutionary Russia, left for Finland. Later, ownership of the station was exchanged for Russian property in Finland, including the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki.

Locomotive #293 at Finlyandsky station

The station is best remembered for the arrival of Vladimir Lenin by train from Germany on 3 April 1917 to start the October Revolution. The event is commemorated by the Soviet statue of Lenin dominating the square in front of the station. After the turmoil of the July Days, when workers and soldiers in the capital clashed with government troops, Lenin had to flee to Finland for safety, to avoid arrest. Lenin secretly returned from Finland disguised as a railway worker and protected by Eino Rahja and Alexander Shotman on 9 August 1917. Both times Lenin crosses Russian-Finnish border on the engine #293 driven by Finnish engineer Hugo Jalava (Гуго Эрикович Ялава). The steam locomotive was decades later donated by Finland to the Soviet Union, and is now installed as a permanent exhibit at the station.^[2]

During the Siege of Leningrad, the Finland Terminus was the only one in use. In the 1950s, the old building was demolished and replaced with a new structure which was inaugurated in 1960. The turreted building is decorated with sculptures glorifying the October Revolution and incorporates a portico preserved from the original 1870 edifice.

References

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finlyandsky Rail Terminal

RZhD, OktZhD, SPbZhD, Russia Saint Petersburg Finlyandsky - Beloostrov through Sestroretsk

Legend Vyborg Zelenogorsk Solnechnoye line Sestroretsk spur line (1871-1873) line Miller's line (1873-1886) To Sestroretsk 42.7 43.0 Beloostrov Pesochny Lanskaya Finlyandsky Rail Term.  42.9 Novoye shosse Beloostrov 39.6 Sestra crossover Sestra line Sestroretsk spur line (1871-1873) line Miller's line (1873-1886) 39.4 Beloostrov (1871-1886) 39.1 Sestroretsk (1871-1886, 1916-1924) line Sestroretsk spur line (1871-1873) line Miller's line (1873-1886) line Zavodskaya line (1916-1924) 39.3 Old line of road M-10 Sestr. Saint Petersburg Vyborg 34.4 Dyuny crossover M10 Line Sestroretsk line Primorskaya railway  Dyuny Shkolnaya 38.1 Zavodskaya sestra cr. Z. s. 37.7 Kurort  36.4 Sestroretsky Kyrort Miller's pier 36.3 Line Miller's line (1873-1886) 36.2 Sestroretsk 36.1 Yermolovsky prospect Sestroretsk 35.7 Sestroretsk armory 35.2 Voskov street Sestroretsk Line Dubki horse-iron road (1847-bf 1870)  Sestroretsk armory (1847-bf 1870) Dubkovsky pier 35.1 Sestroretsk railway station  34.7 Liteyny bridge Vodoslivnoy channel Vyborg Saint Petersburg 34.4 Sestroretsky crossover M10 highway 33.3 Razliv 31.5 Tarkhovka  18.1 Tarkhovskaya street Tarkhovka 30.1 Alexandrovskaya 29.0 Gorskaya  28.9 Gorskaya crossover KAD 28.3 Export goods for Spb Dam To Kronshtadt before 1928 28.3 Lisy Nos, before 1928 25.3 Lisy Nos  21.8 Morskaya 1.5 2.3 North-West Thermal Power Plant 18.2 Olgino  18.1 Konnolakhtinsky prospect Olgino 17.1 Lakhta  17.1 Granichnaya street Lakhta 15.5 Lakhtinsky crossover Lakhtyinsky r. 13.0 Yakhtennaya  12.6 Planerny crossover Planernaya st. Kirovskaya Small October railway Sub Staraya Derevnya Line 4 10,4 Staraya Derevnya  10.3 Torfyanaya doroga 9.4 Serebryakov pereulok 8.5 Akademik Shimansky street 8.3 Chyornaya rechka cr. Chernaya R. Severny factory 7.7 Novaya Derevnya Objects 1893  line Ozerki line  Ozerki Kolomuagi Skachki line Tovarnaya line  Primorsky - goods Primorsky Rail Terminal 7.5 7.5 Kolomyazsky prospect 7.4 line Tovarnaya line  Serdobolsky stop Finlyandsky Rail Terminal 7.2 Omskaya street Vyborg Beloostrov Udelnaya 5.0 Lanskaya St Engineering objects To Kushelevka  4.2 Zemledenchesky crossover Zemledench. 4.0 1st Murinsky crossover 1st Murinsky To Kushelevka  line Tovarnaya line  Primorsky - goods Primorsky Rail Terminal Serdobolsky stop 3.0 Flyugov post 1924-1931 line Tovarnaya line  Finlyandsky Rail Terminal Baburin post 3.5 Kantemirovsky crossover Kantem. line Tovarnaya line  Primorsky Rail Terminal Flyugov post 3.2 3.1 A. Matrosov crossover A. Matr. st. 2.7 Lesnoy crossover Lesnoy prospect 1.7 Traction Depot 1.6 Locomotive Depot 1.6 Locomotivnoye Depot Finlyandsky - Goods Sub Ploshchad Lenina Line 1 0.0 Finlyandsky Rail Terminal Saint Petersburg Distances in kilometers

• To the Finland Station, a book by Edmund Wilson.
• Karelian Trains
• Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad
• Riihimäki-Saint Petersburg railroad

v • d • e St. Petersburg rail terminals Open Baltiysky · Finlyandsky · Ladozhsky · Moskovsky · Vitebsky Closed Okhtinsky · Primorsky · Varshavsky

Coordinates: 59°57′20″N 30°21′23″E / 59.95556°N 30.35639°E / 59.95556; 30.35639