BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 2. Maersk has launched a new block train service connecting Haparanda, on the Swedish-Finnish border, with APM Terminals Gothenburg, offering businesses in northern Sweden and Finland an alternative route to international shipping networks, the company said on November 2.
The service is designed to improve transport connectivity for industries across the northern Nordic region, particularly steel, forestry, pulp and paper producers, by reducing transit times and providing year-round access to maritime freight services.
According to Maersk, the new rail connection could reduce total transit time for cargo travelling from Oulu, Finland, to Asia by eight days compared with traditional routes. The first train is scheduled to operate on November 5, with the service initially offering two weekly round trips between APM Terminals Gothenburg and Haparanda. Maersk plans to increase the frequency to four and subsequently six round trips per week.
The rail connection is also expected to reduce exposure to disruptions caused by winter conditions in the northern Baltic Sea.
"Another benefit specially in winter: customers are no longer exposed to ice-related delays in the Northern Baltic Sea. The rail offering also bypasses port-related vessel and crane bottlenecks, removing key sources of uncertainty from the transport chain," the company added.
The long-distance leg of the route will use electric rail, while the final delivery to customers can be handled by either truck or rail, depending on requirements.
Through APM Terminals Gothenburg, the service will connect with international shipping routes, including Maersk's Gemini East-West Ocean Network. Three mainliner services calling at the Port of Gothenburg provide onward connections to global markets, including direct links to Asia.
The launch comes amid growing trade activity in both Finland and Sweden. Preliminary figures from Finnish Customs show that the value of Finland's goods exports increased by 11.5% year-on-year in January-August 2026, while export volumes rose by 3.3%. The value of imports grew by 16.6% over the same period.
In August alone, Finnish goods exports increased by 22% in value and 9.5% in volume compared with the same month of 2025. Sweden also recorded growth in merchandise trade. According to Statistics Sweden, the value of Swedish goods exports rose by 4% in January-August 2026 compared with the corresponding period of 2025, while imports increased by 8%.
