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VR Group
State-owned railway company in Finland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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VR-Group Plc (Finnish: VR-Yhtymä Oyj, Swedish: VR-Group Abp),[1] commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day.[2] With 7,500 employees and net sales of €1,251 million in 2017, VR is one of the most significant operators in the Finnish public transport market area.[3]
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VR was created in 1995 after being known as Swedish: Finska Statsjärnvägarna, Finnish: Suomen Valtion Rautatiet (Finnish State Railways) from 1862 to 1922, and Valtionrautatiet ('State Railways', Swedish: Statsjärnvägarna) from 1922 to 1995.
The concern includes subsidiaries Avecra for onboard catering service and Pohjolan Liikenne for bus traffic. Its headquarters is located at the Iso Paja building, previously occupied by the state-owned broadcasting company Yle, in northern-central Helsinki.[4]
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History
Rail transport started in Finland in 1862 between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna. Multiple main lines and smaller private railways were built in the following decades. VR mainly operated on the high-demand main lines. During the twentieth century, most private railway companies were shut down and VR assumed a monopoly in rail transport. In 1995 the company went through a process of corporatization to become the VR Group.
Since 2010, the maintenance and the construction of the railway network have been the responsibility of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Finnish: Väylävirasto). The operation and network were originally carried out by the parent company Valtionrautatiet until 1995, when it was split into VR and the rail administration entity Ratahallintokeskus.
Norwegian company NRC Group bought VR Track (now NRC Group Finland) in 2018 for €225 million.[5] In 2023, VR sold its road freight transport division to German investment firm Mutares.[6]
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Services
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Because in most parts of Finland the density of population is low, Finland is not optimally suited for railways. Commuter services are nowadays rare outside the Helsinki area, but express trains interconnect most cities. As in France, the majority of passenger services are connections to the capital, Helsinki. In the 2010s, VR has made connections faster by reducing stops at minor stations and increasing running speeds with new locomotives and renovated high-speed trains.
VR provides motorail services. Cars can be loaded onto and unloaded from trains at seven stations: Helsinki, Turku and Tampere in the south, Oulu further north, and Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi and Kolari in Lapland. Car transport trains stop at other stations along the way for normal passenger transport and is available as daily service to Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi and several times a week to Kolari. Finland is the only Nordic country to offer car transport on trains; however, car transport on trains is available in many European countries outside the Nordic countries.[7] In August 2021 VR began operating the Tampere light rail.[8]
Commuter rail
VR operates the commuter traffic in the Helsinki area on behalf of HSL and its own commuter rail services in southern Finland.
International services
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, VR operated jointly with Russian Railways a passenger rail service named Allegro between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. However due to sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all passenger rail traffic between Finland and Russia has been suspended in March 2022, and the rolling stock has since been parked. These trains were in late 2023 taken over by VR, and will re-enter service in Finnish domestic traffic in late 2025.[9]
The railway line from Finland to Haparanda, Sweden over the Torne River Railway Bridge was electrified by 2025. VR has proposed re-instating passenger service to Haparanda assuming a subsidy for the service is given, but that was not included in the Finnish 2026 budget.[10] VR's predecesor previously terminated its traffic to Haparanda in 1988, and the Swedish State Railways withdrew its traffic from Luleå, Sweden to Tornio, Finland in 1992.[11]
Freight
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In 2025, VR had a market share of 87% of the rail freight in Finland.[12]
VR terminated its international freight operations over the Russian border following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[13] Freight traffic to Sweden usually does not continue further than Tornio by rail due to differences in the track gauge between the two countries, although a possibility to exchange bogies exists.[14] Train ferry connections from Turku to Stockholm, Sweden via VR's former subsidiary SeaRail were terminated at the end of 2011.[15]
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Rolling stock
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Locomotives
As of 2025, the company operates three classes of electric locomotives (Sr1, Sr2 and Sr3) and four classes of diesel locomotives (Dv12, Dr14, Dr16 and Dr19). 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.
On 20 December 2013, VR announced plans to purchase 80 new electric locomotives, with 97 options. The upcoming Sr3 will be based on the Vectron and will replace the aging Sr1. 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.[16][17]
VR has purchased 60 Dr19 locomotives from Stadler Rail Valencia which will be delivered by the end of 2026.[18] The Dr19 order will allow the company to retire its Dr16 locomotives by the end of 2025.[19]
Carriages
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.
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 and have a top speed of 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. 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 cars
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.[20] 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.[21]
Freight wagons
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.
Multiple units
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 commuter rail 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.
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Subsidiaries
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VR Sverige
In July 2022, VR Group established operations in Sweden by acquiring Arriva Sverige AB from the German state-owned company Deutsche Bahn. As part of this acquisition, which was finalised on 1st July 2022, VR Group gained control over extensive local and regional public transportation operations, including bus, tram and train services in Stockholm, Östergötland, and Skåne, including Skånetrafiken's Pågatåg. This acquisition brought approximately 2,300[24] employees into the VR Group. The acquired operations include 740 buses, 180 trains, and 70 trams, facilitating around 58 million bus journeys and 54 million train journeys annually.[25]
Following the acquisition, Arriva Sverige was rebranded as VR Sverige and operates under the VR Group brand. Since 2022, VR has grown in Sweden with contracts that include train services in regions like Bergslagen and Gävleborg. VR Sverige also secured a 10-year contract to operate bus services for SL in Tyresö, Stockholm, beginning in July 2025. This contract is valued at approximately €215 million and involves around 190 employees.[26]
In addition to the purchase of Arriva Sweden, VR Group has also strengthened its presence in the Swedish rail market through the acquisition of MTRX, a high-speed train operator on the Stockholm-Gothenburg route. Acquired in 2024, MTRX was rebranded as VR Snabbtåg Sverige and became part of VR Group’s long-distance operations. The MTRX acquisition included six Stadler Flirt X74 EMUs, which operate over 120 weekly services on the route.[27]
A VR X74 train at Stockholm Central Station
A Pågatåg train Malmö operated by VR Sverige
VR Support vehicle for the Tvärbanan
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Livery
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2011) |
VR has used several liveries in the past. When InterCity traffic started during the 1980s, VR's colour scheme was changed to red and white. In 2009, VR changed its corporate colour to green[28] and all the coaches have been repainted in green and white except the Cemt and Eifet carriages.
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