Helsingin Sanomat casts a spotlight on a rail project that promises travellers a swift link to Helsinki Airport while easing congestion on the country's busiest main line.

The proposed link, known as Lentorata ("Flight Rail"), would run in a tunnel between Helsinki's Pasila district and the town of Kerava, just north of Vantaa. Long discussed in planning circles, the project plan is now edging from the drawing board towards the next government's coalition negotiations.

The tunnel would stretch 24 kilometers and its construction is expected to take five to seven years. The projected price tag is put at three billion euros, roughly the same as the so-called "one-hour train" line planned between Helsinki and Turku.

Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov (NCP) calls Lentorata the single most important rail project in Finland. A direct, rapid airport connection, he argued, would be a competitive asset benefiting not only the capital but the entire country.

Once complete, passengers approaching from Tampere and Lahti would see journey times to the airport shortened by 14 to 24 minutes. From downtown Helsinki, the trip would be around 15 minutes quicker.

Shadowy waters

Every week, roughly 40 oil tankers sail westward from Russia through the Gulf of Finland. Many are thought to belong to the so-called shadow fleet, commonly believed to circumvent international sanctions.

In terms of how close they get to Finland, some of these vessels pass as close as 18 kilometers from Helsinki. Finnish authorities most recently took control of a vessel suspected of causing marine cable damage on New Year's Eve.

Hufvudstadsbladet explains that Finland's Border Guard is now looking ahead to expanded powers that would give it greater scope to intervene.

The Border Guard is leading a new initiative in which Baltic Sea countries would form a kind of monitoring hub to coordinate responses to threats against undersea infrastructure.

Legislative tweaks are also planned to strengthen the Border Guard's hand at sea, giving it powers to board and inspect vessels beyond Finland's territorial waters if they appear stateless or fly dubious flags.

More scissor-wielding

Further belt-tightening is expected from the government as it reviews its budget this spring, according to Kauppalehti.

The additional cuts under discussion would amount to around one billion euros on top of an existing ten-billion-euro austerity package.

Last August, Finance Minister Riikka Purra (Finns) put forward a one billion-euro list of proposed cuts for 2026, meeting a broad range of criticism.