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On Dec. 12, Russian Railways opened a new high-speed rail link between Russia and Finland.

As part of the project, Russian Railways rebuilt the 100-mile St. Petersburg-to-Buslovskaya line.

The high-speed service currently features two daily trips between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, with trains reaching top speeds of 200 kph on Russian territory and 220 kph on Finnish territory. By summer, Russian Railways expect to add two additional trains. The high-speed service reduces travel time between the two cities from six hours, 18 minutes to about three hours, 30 minutes.

In 2011, the service is expected to carry about 250,000 passengers. Russian Railways expects that figure to double during the next seven years.

The line features Allegro high-speed trains manufactured by Alstom.