Judge finds no issue with direct award process for Dutch Railways’ passenger services
A Dutch court has ruled against the Federation of Transport Companies (FMN) in their case against the government. The FMN had objected to the government’s aim to grant the incumbent operator, Dutch Railways (NS), another...Read more
Full migration to standard gauge out of the question for Finland
The costs of migrating the whole Finnish TEN-T rail network from 1,524 mm gauge to the European standard are far greater than the possible benefits, deeming such a shift unfeasible. A viable alternative would be...Read more
Finland explores competition in passenger rail after 2030
With the current passenger rail service contracts expiring in 2030, publicly funded passenger rail traffic in Finland will need to be reorganised in 2031 to meet the European Union’s agreed-upon goals. The Finnish ministry of...Read more
Night train tickets to Finnish ski resorts in demand (and tax-free)
Finland’s national operator VR is seeing a big demand for night train services to the country’s major ski resorts. Demand is partly fuelled by the fact that tickets are tax-free until the end of April....Read more
Finland creates EULYNX interface adapter to allow old and new tech to work together
Finland will adopt the open-standard EULYNX interface in railway network signalling systems. What is novel about the Finnish approach is that an specially designed adaptor will be used to apply the EULYNX compliant interface. This...Read more
VR chooses Škoda Transtech for new night trains
Finnish rail operator VR Group has decided to procure its new night train fleet at Škoda Transtech. A total of nine sleeper coaches, eight car-carrier coaches as well as spare parts, special tools, training and...Read more
Finland removes VAT from train tickets
As a temporary measure, Finland will reduce VAT on train and other public transport tickets from 10 per cent to zero from January 1 to April 30, 2023. Parliament decided on the course action as...Read more
Stadler to deliver 20 new FLIRT trains for Finnish VR Group
Finland’s national railway operator VR Group has signed a contract with Stadler for the delivery of 20 single-decker FLIRT trains with a value of 250 million euros. The electric multiple units will be used for...Read more
Finland’s first open-access rail operator prepares operations, what did their journey look like?
InterviewNewly founded operator Suomen Lähijunat Oy (Finland Commuter trains) has big plans in Finland. “We chipped away at the existing monopoly in Finland on the bus side, and we could very well be at a...Read more
VR sells 11 trains to new Finnish rail operator
Finland’s national operator VR Group has agreed on a deal with Suomen Lähijunat Oy to sell 11 Sm2 train units to the new rail operator. Suomen Lähijunat will repair and modernise the trains for new...Read more
VR FleetCare and FTIA embark on condition monitoring campaign in Finland
VR FleetCare and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (FTIA) will embark on a the biggest condition monitoring campaign of railway points in Finland to date. As part of a new agreement announced on Tuesday, VR FleetCare and the...Read more
Standard European gauge for TEN-T: ‘not across the board, not at all costs’
The European Commission kicked up a lot of dust in July when it proposed that all new TEN-T railways be built to the standard European gauge. What does that mean for the countries potentially affected...Read more
European gauge proposal: unreasonable or strategic for Finland?
Finland’s Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka has called the recent proposal by the European Commission on the European standard rail gauge “unreasonable”. The views of Finnish officials and experts vary, but specifically the...Read more