VR Group

VR operates the commuter traffic in the Helsinki area on behalf of HSL and its own commuter rail services in southern Finland.

Rail bridge connecting Finnish Tornio with Swedish Haparanda

There are plans for the near future to open a new passenger rail between Finland and Sweden. It is not completely clear yet where the line will start or end, however works for the new line began in 2021. [8]

Before Russian invasion of Ukraine, VR operated jointly with Russian Railways a passenger rail service named Allegro between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. However due to proposed sanctions towards Russia, all passenger rail traffic between Finland and Russia has been suspended in March 2022, and the rolling stock has since been scrapped.

Domestic and international freight services are provided by VR Transpoint, part of VR. In 2009, both domestic and international freight traffic declined, which worsened VR's financial position.[9] International freight traffic is concentrated to the four railways across the Russian border but there is also a connection to the Swedish rail network in Tornio. Formerly, even rail ferry connections from Turku to Stockholm, Sweden, and to Travemünde, Germany has existed.

VR operated steam locomotives until 1975. Although the regular use of steam traction for scheduled passenger services ended in 1970, occasional use continued until 1975. As of 2011, the company operates two classes of electric locomotives (Sr1 and Sr2) and three classes of diesel locomotives (Dv12, Dr14 and Dr16). The use of diesel locomotive hauled passenger trains has declined due to electrification of all main lines and the (re)introduction of railbuses (Dm12) on secondary routes.

In October 2010, VR announced plans to renew its locomotive fleet by ordering around 200 new locomotives, which are expected to enter service in 2015–25.[10]

On 20 December 2013, VR announced plans to purchase 80 new electric locomotives, with 97 options. This upcoming Sr3 will be based on the Siemens Vectron and will replace the aging Sr1's. The locomotives will be fitted with helper diesel engines that can be used for shunting in partly unelectrified railyards. Deliveries will occur between 2017 and 2026.[11][12]

Preserved Vr2 class steam locomotive at Joensuu station.

At the beginning of traffic, locomotives were distinguished by their names, and by 1865 also by their numbers.[13] In 1887, the locomotives were given their original classification system. It was based on the wheel arrangement of the locomotives: each wheel arrangement was assigned a letter of the alphabet, which was followed by a serial number.[14] The assignment of letters to different wheel arrangements was made when the first locomotive using it was brought into service; the letter A signified a 4-4-0 wheelbase in the Whyte notation, B signified a 0-4-2ST locomotive, C a 0-6-0 locomotive, and so on.[15]

On 8 October 1942, the notation system was changed to two letters and a serial number. The first letter in the designation now signified the types of trains the locomotive was generally planned to haul:[16]

• H (henkilöjuna) for passenger trains,
• P (paikallisjuna) for local (commuter) trains,
• T (tavarajuna) for freight trains,
• S (sekajuna) for mixed freight-passenger trains and
• V (vaihto, literally "switch") for shunters.

The second small letter indicated the weight of the locomotive:[16]

• r (raskas) = heavy (axle load over 14.1 t)
• v (väliraskas) = midweight (axle load 11.1–14.0 t)
• k (kevyt) = light (axle load under 11.0 t)
• m = mechanical transmission (in multiple units)
• s (sähkö 'electric(ity)') = electrical transmission (in multiple units).

When diesel locomotives were taken into service in the 1950s, they were additionally differentiated by the steam locomotive classes by beginning their numbering from 11 instead of the next free number in running order. As a result, the last steam-powered heavy passenger locomotive class was designated Hr3, and its first diesel-powered counterpart Hr11.[15]

The current VR locomotive classification system was taken into use on 1 January 1976. The first (capital) letter was now used to differentiate between locomotive types: S (sähkö) for electric, D for diesel and T (työkone) for maintenance equipment. The serial numbers of diesel locomotive classes were not changed, the Hr11 class becoming Dr11. In addition to this the borderline between midweight and heavy locomotives was changed to 15.1 tons and the second letter in multiple units is always m (for moottorivaunu).[15]

Class Edo control cars are used on select routes (here seen at Pasila railway station).

Interior view of the top deck of a VR InterCity2 double-deck carriage.

The wide Finnish loading gauge allows the passenger coaches to be considerably wider than most European passenger coaches. The aisle and seats are wider than in other European trains in the standard 2+2 configuration, and in commuter traffic 3+2 seat configuration is used to allow more seats for the same train length. The last wooden-bodied carriages were withdrawn by the mid-1980s. Prior to the 1970s these had been the mainstay of VR's passenger rolling stock.

VR has three types of locomotive hauled passenger coaches:

• Double-deck InterCity carriages are the common coaches in the long-distance trains and the mainstay of VR's network. There are several variants, including coaches with first class service, family-friendly coaches and coaches with bike as baggage capability. The coaches are built in Finland by Transtech Oy and they VR's most modern carriages. More coaches has been ordered to replace the last blue carriages and to increase capacity on the most popular routes. Their top speed is 200 km/h.
• Single-deck InterCity carriages are used to increase capacity whenever double-deck coaches are not available. Top speed is 200 km/h.
• "Blue" carriages, as they are popularly known as such due to their blue and light gray liveries, are used on night express trains from Helsinki to Kolari and Kemijärvi. Top speed is 140 or 160 km/h.

In addition to these, VR has ordered 12+13 Class Edo control cars from Transtech, eight of which have been in regular passenger traffic since 29 October 2013.[18] The cars are used in InterCity connections with the Sr2 and the upcoming Sr3 locomotives pushing the train.

First class, or Extra as VR calls it, is marked with Extra signs outside of the coaches on InterCity trains. Even restaurant coaches are marked similarly.

On the "Blue" carriages, first class used to be distinguished by a yellow stripe above the windows and restaurant cars by a red stripe. Cars equipped with diesel generators, which are used to provide electricity to InterCity or sleeper wagons on non-electrified tracks, can be distinguished by a blue stripe above the windows.

Sleeper trains between Helsinki and Lapland usually stop at Tampere for about half an hour around midnight, giving adventurous passengers time to briefly visit the city.

VR operates sleeper services between Helsinki/Turku and Lapland, which also include car-carrying (motorail) wagons. Double-deck sleeping carriages (including rooms with en suite showers and toilets) were introduced on the Helsinki–Rovaniemi service in the 2000s. These wagons are painted in a green-and-white livery similar to the InterCity coaches. Since 2016, the new coaches have begun to replace the blue carriages even on the way to Kolari.

Electrification extends from Oulu northwards to Kemijärvi.[19] In 2006, direct sleeper services were discontinued beyond Rovaniemi (to Kemijärvi) because the new double-deck sleeping carriages were unable to operate with diesel haulage. The sleeper service to Kemijärvi was restarted in March 2008, by adding to the train in Rovaniemi a new diesel generator car supplying 1 500 V electricity for the sleeper cars between Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi; this setup was continued in use until the electrification extension to Kemijärvi was completed at the end of 2013. Sleeper services between Turku and Joensuu and Helsinki and Kajaani were withdrawn in 2006, but with the new direct line between Lahti and Kerava, the daytime services were made quicker.

On 12 January 2009, VR announced they had requested tenders for the purchase of 20 new sleeping cars, valued at €60–70 million. The two bidders interested were Alstom, which manufactures the Pendolino and some commuter trains for VR, and Finnish Transtech, which manufactured VR's new sleeping cars. The decision led to the resignation of the President and CEO of VR-Group, Henri Kuitunen, and the group's Chairman of the Board, Antti Lagerroos. Helsingin Sanomat reported they had wanted to defer the replacement of older sleeping car rolling stock until 2012 at the earliest. However, the decision went ahead because VR is a state owned business and there was pressure to seek orders from Finnish Transtech, which is currently struggling due to market downturns, in order to secure jobs.[20]

The Finnish loading gauge allows the operation of freight vehicles considerably larger than most other railways in the European Union. Road trailers (often of VR's subsidiary Transpoint) can be easily accommodated on ordinary flat wagons. Much of the freight on the VR network is carried from Russia in Russian wagons, including large capacity eight-axle oil tank wagons.

VR also has a one-third ownership of SeaRail, a specialist operator of freight wagons designed for through running (via ferry) to Sweden and elsewhere in Western Europe.

VR class Sm4 EMU at Helsinki railway station.

JKOY class Sm5 local train at Riihimäki.

Finland's eighth president Urho Kekkonen's free VR ticket for the Finnish railway network from the 1980s

The Sm3 class Pendolino is the VR's "flagship", mainly connecting largest cities to the capital with top running speed up to 220 km/h. Other EMUs in use are the Sm2 and Sm4 on Helsinki area commuter services. In addition, VR operates Pääkaupunkiseudun Junakalusto Oy -owned Sm5 class EMUs in Helsinki local traffic.

VR currently operates one class of diesel-powered multiple units: the Czech-built single carriage Dm12, which is used mainly on secondary lines.

The multiple unit classification system follows a similar logic as the locomotive classification system: the first letter signifies the power source (in addition to electric and diesel, gasoline (B, bensiini) and wood gas (P, puukaasu) have been used), followed by the letter m (moottorivaunu) signifyng a multiple unit, followed by a serial number.

• Alameri, Mikko (1979). Suomen rautatiet (in Finnish and German). Verlag Josef Otto Slezak. ISBN 3-900134-52-9.