Travelling with children
The adventure starts on the platform
A train is the best way best way to travel with children. On a train children are free to play, and you don’t have to stop your travel for meals or toilet breaks.
Child discounts
Children under seven travel for free on commuter trains. When travelling long-distance, children under four travel for free without a designated seat. Children under 18 are entitled to a discount on train tickets.
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Worried about changing trains?
Children travelling with us don’t need to be worried about changing trains during their journey. Just tell the conductor inspecting your ticket and they will make sure you make the change.
Happy to help you
If you need help with a pram or pushchair, our train staff are always happy to help you.
Prams go free of charge
Prams can be transported free of charge in the designated space marked accordingly. If the train if full, please fold up the pram for the duration of the journey.
Check train measurements
Will my pram fit in the train? The widths of doors and aisles on trains vary. The coach maps for trains will tell you all the measurements you need to know.
Check train measurementsComfortable travelling with children in a long-distance train
On InterCity trains, you can travel with children without worry. An accessible service carriage can always be found in coach number 4 of the IC train.
Nearly all IC trains have a coach with a play area located in the service carriage. Pre-schoolers will find a lot to do in the play area:
- Children’s books published by Tammi
- Toy locomotive with coaches
- Slide with a guard rail
- Playmates of other children on the train
- Accessible toilet in the downstairs area of the coach with the play area, comes with a baby care table, potty and bottle warmer.
Family compartments offer you a peaceful place to travel with infants. The family cabin is located in the service carriage of the IC train. There’s plenty of room to play, read and eat snacks.
Family compartments provide infants with a place to nap comfortably as there’s space for a carry cot on the floor.
- The compartment has four seats and two stools for children.
- Charge your devices using the two available power sockets.
- An accessible toilet is downstairs in the coach, which comes with a baby care table, potty and bottle warmer.
- A coach with a play area is conveniently close to the family compartments.
- Some prams may be too large for the family cabins. Prams can be stored in the designated space marked with a picture of a pram. Travel strollers and pram bassinets, however, are usually small enough for family cabins. There are a couple of steps on the way to the family cabin, the doorway is 66 cm wide.
Travelling on a night train is easy even with the tiniest family members. You will sleep better in a bed than dozing off on the back seat of a car. In the morning, you will wake to continue your journey completely refreshed.
- Children aged 0–10 travel on night trains for free when sharing a berth with another passenger. However, please note that the beds are 0.75 metres wide and 2.00 metres long. A child travelling in the same sleeping berth does not need their own ticket, but kindly inform our customer service 0600 41 900 (3,55 € / answered call + lnc/mcc) about the child travelling with you.
- If you need a safety net for a child sleeping on a berth, you can pre-order one free of charge from our customer support 0100 3232 (cost 0,06 €/min + lnc/mcc). The net can only be installed to a lower berth, and it will be in place when you board the train.
- Sleeper cabins have enough space for most travel cots for children. The maximum dimensions of cots are 120 cm x 60 cm. Please note that the cabin doors always open inwards, making a travel cot a potential obstacle when exiting the cabin in an emergency.
- The amenities in sleeper cabins do not include a potty.
- Please also note that you might want to have a water bottle available at night as the tap water on the train is not drinkable. Night train passengers can of course use the restaurant car services until late at night and again early in the morning.
- When travelling by night train, remember to bring with you activities for children, as night trains do not have coaches with play areas.
- Here are more detailed tips for the night train if you are travelling with children
- Read more about night trains and car-carrier trains
Pendolino trains are not completely accessible and do not have family cabins or coaches with play areas. For safety reasons, the ramp on the Pendolino can only be used by wheelchair users, so help may be needed to lift a pram over the high steps of the train. If you’re travelling alone with a pram, the IC train is a more practical option than the Pendolino.
Travelling with prams on commuter trains is free of charge
Travelling with a pram on commuter trains is easy and affordable. Passengers with children who are under 7 and travelling with a stroller or a pram, as well as children under the age of 7, travel free of charge on our commuter trains.
Are we there yet?
Long journey can sometimes feel boring. We recommend taking toys with you, as there is room to play on the train. On the InterCity trains the children travel comfortably in a family compartment or in the coach with play area.
Where would you like to travel?
Search for a journey and start your adventure
Take the kids to the restaurant car
InterCity and Pendolino trains and night trains have a restaurant car or sales trolley, where you can buy meals, snacks and drinks. You can take your food from the restaurant car to your seat. You can also heat meals for small children as long as they are unopened and in the original packaging.
Order restaurant car treats to your seat
Order from the VR matkalla appYou can order meals with beverages from the restaurant car and have them delivered to your own seat. Start your order from the app's home page and choose from a selection of restaurant car's most popular dishes.
Children travelling alone
Children can travel alone on trains with their guardian's permission. Make sure that the child knows at which station he/she is getting off and pack a phone charger. Encourage the child to ask the conductor for help if he/she has any questions.
See the world by train
Be bold and take the children abroad. On the train, children collect new experiences and make new friends in no time.
