Rolf Jansson, president and CEO, VR Group, talks to Keith Barrow.
THE board of Helsinki City Transport (HKL) and the technical manager of the City of Espoo have selected a Finnish consortium of YIT and VR track for a contract to construct the 25km Raide-Jokeri light rail line.
FINLAND’s passenger rail market will be opened to competition in the early 2020s, ending the monopoly of incumbent operator VR Group, under plans unveiled by minister of transport and communications Mrs Anne Berner and minister of economic affairs Mr Mika Lintilä on August 9.
THE first eight broad-gauge Siemens Vectron locomotives for Finnish operator VR Group have been authorised for operation in Finland by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, Trafi.
FINLAND’s VR Group is planning to invest more than €100m in the modernisation of its ageing fleet of diesel locomotives.
DESPITE reporting a 6.7% increase in passenger traffic to 117.9 million trips in 2016, turnover at Finland’s VR Group decreased by 3.6% year-on-year to €1.187bn, according to the company’s annual results announced on March 6. This resulted in an operating profit of €45.3m, down from €65.4m in 2015.
THE Finnish City of Tampere has signed an agreement with Pöyry, YIT and VR Track to implement the city’s €238.8m light rail project, with the Finnish government funding 70% of the infrastructure cost.
FINLAND’s VR Group turned an operating loss of €2.6m in the first half of 2015 into a profit of €1.2m for the first half of 2016 thanks to an increase in passenger and freight rail traffic.
VR Transpoint has launched a collaboration with Innofreight, Austria, to develop a new type of freight wagon, named Finnowagon, for rail logistics in Finland, the aim being to create a more flexible service for rail logistics customers.
