Lahti has a railway station on the Helsinki–Kontiomäki line, between Mäntsälä and Kouvola; before 2006, connections to Helsinki went via Riihimäki. The shortened railway connection is expected to boost the growth of Lahti.
Lahti is exactly 104 km from Helsinki, a one-hour drive on the expressway number 4 connecting the two cities.
There is an almost hourly ExpressBus coach connection from Helsinki-Vantaa airport to Lahti bus station operated, departing from platform 13 in front of the international flights terminal. The service operates round the clock, although there may be a gap of 1 to 2 hours between services in the small hours of the night. The trip takes between 1 h 15 min and 1 h 30 min depending on whether the service calls in towns on the way. In some cases, there is a change of coach at Kerava but it is well co-ordinated and easy. Tickets cost €20.50 (round trip €36.90) for adults, €10.30 for Finnish students (ISIC not accepted) and children of age 4-16. Children under the age of four travel free.
Travel from Helsinki to Lahti by train takes about an hour. The train service is provided by VR, the national train company. Trains are also preferred by locals, because they're fast and comfortable. There are several train types:
*Local train Z (Lähiliikennejuna Z). Costs around €13,80 adult, €6,90 child(6-16 years). - Stops at Pasila, Tikkurila, Kerava, Haarajoki, and Mäntsälä. Goes hourly from about 6AM to roughly midnight.
*InterCity trains(InterCity-juna). Costs around €20 adult, €10 child. Very comfortable trains, usually with 6 wagons, 3 of them are double-deckers. Stops at Pasila, Tikkurila and depending on the train also at Kerava. Most of the intercity trains continue onwards from Lahti and are only marginally faster than the Z train. Current (winter 2009) timetable indicates 54 minutes travel time.
*Pendolino trains. Costs around €25, 2 adult, €12, 6 children. Very comfortable
