VR-Yhtymä
| VR-Yhtymä Oy (Finnish), VR-Group Ab (Swedish)
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| legal form | AG |
| founding | 1862/1995 |
| Seat | Helsinki |
| management | Mikael Aro |
| Number of employees | 8615 (2015) |
| sales | 1,171 million euros |
| Branch | Railway company, logistics |
| Website | www.vrgroup.fi |
VR-Yhtymä Oy or VR-Group Ab (abbreviated VR ) is a logistics group that emerged from the Finnish State Railways . In addition to rail traffic, the subsidiaries belonging to it now also operate bus and truck traffic.
In its current form, the VR is a stock corporation whose shares are fully state-owned. The joint-stock company was founded in 1995 when the state railway founded in 1862, which until then had been called Valtionrautatiet ("State Railways"), was split into two parts. VR took over the vehicles, while the railway systems fell to the newly established railway administration center (Ratahallintokeskus, Banförvaltningscentralen) . The railway administration center was incorporated into the transport authority (Liikennevirasto, Trafikverket) in 2010 .
Apart from a few smaller museum railways and the Helsinki City Transport Authority , which operates a metro and the local tram network in the capital , VR was for a long time the only railway company in Finland. However, rail freight transport was opened for competition in 2007, and the same is planned for rail passenger transport. Fenniarail started operations in 2016 as VR's first private competitor in rail freight transport . Local rail transport in the Helsinki region is operated by VR, the responsible authority is the regional transport association HSL . The newer trains do not belong to VR, but to the company Pääkaupunkiseudun Junakalusto, founded in 2004 .
history
The railway construction began relatively late in Finland. The first line opened on January 31, 1862 between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna and was operated by VR from the start. In 1870 a connection to St. Petersburg was completed and with it the connection to the capital of the Russian Empire, which was classified as a priority at the time . Finland was then part of this empire and therefore the tracks were laid in Russian broad gauge (1524 millimeters) from the beginning . In the Soviet Union, the nominal gauge was reduced to 1520 millimeters. As early as 1959, Valtionrautatiet (VR) also considered reducing the gauge, but this was never carried out.
On June 22, 1876, the Helsinki – Hämeenlinna line was extended via Toijala to Tampere . At the same time a branch from Toijala to Turku was opened. This connected the three most important cities in the country. In 1878 there was a connection from Tampere via Haapamäki and Seinäjoki to Vaasa , and six years later Oulu was connected from Seinäjoki. In 1909, the Lapland capital Rovaniemi was finally reached.
Railway construction continued well into the 20th century. Important sections, such as the Parkano –Seinäjoki line, which opened in 1970 and which considerably shortened the connection from southern Finland to the north, could only be opened in the 1960s and 1970s.
An extensive electrification program began in 1968 with the 25 kV 50 Hz power system . A year later, the first electrical section between Helsinki and Kirkkonummi was put into operation.
present
meaning
In Finland, as in most other European countries, the market share of rail passenger transport has declined over the past 30 years . In 1996, the Finnish modes of transport shared passenger transport as follows:
- 79.4% car traffic
- 12.6% bus traffic
- 5.2% railway (VR)
- 1.2% aircraft
In absolute terms, however, rail passenger transport has increased. In 1996 alone, passenger kilometers increased by 2.2% (after a slight drop during the economic crisis in the early 1990s). The freight has been particularly positive development from 1960 to 1998. Despite the economic crisis, the freight transport figures between 1990 and 1995 apparently show no drop. Development of traffic volume:
| year | People billion person-kilometers |
Goods in billions of net tonne-kilometers |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.3 | 4.9 |
| 1970 | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| 1980 | 3.2 | 8.3 |
| 1982 | 3.3 | 8.0 |
| 1983 | 3.3 | 8.1 |
| 1990 | 3.3 | 8.4 |
| 1995 | 3.2 | 9.3 |
| 1998 | 3.4 | 9.9 |
Route network
In 1996 the route network of the RHK ( Ratahallintokeskus , "Central Railway Administration") was 5,660 km long. Of these, 37%, i.e. 2,073 km, were electrified. Electric trains accounted for 65% of the total traffic. In the meantime, other lines have been electrified, including Oulu - Rovaniemi and, as recently as 2006, the Iisalmi –Kontiomäki – Oulu and Kontiomäki – Vartius lines. Since 1982, when the network was still 6,041 km, 381 km have been shut down.
The network is still predominantly single-track (91.5%). In the Helsinki region , dedicated tracks were built on busy routes for local rail traffic, which otherwise runs on long-distance tracks .
Travel times and speeds
The maximum speed for conventional trains is 160 km / h. However, since with the VR trains that are faster than 140 km / h have to be provided with an additional engine driver, they only drive this speed to make up for any delays. In 2003 the sections (Helsinki–) Kerava –Tampere – Seinäjoki and (Helsinki–) Espoo - Karjaa - Salo –Turku were approved for 160 km / h .
The Pendolino trains are an exception: they are allowed to travel 200 km / h between Kerava and Tampere and between Karjaa and Salo, 180 km / h between Espoo and Karjaa and between Salo and Turku.
On September 3, 2006, the new Kerava – Lahti line was opened. This significantly shortened travel times between Helsinki and the eastern regions of Finland as well as to Russia.
| Destination from Helsinki | Travel time | Before (1991) | 2007 | Average speed | Train type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hämeenlinna (108 km) | 0:54 | 1:01 | 1:03 | 120.0 km / h | Pendolino |
| Joensuu (508 km) | 5:11 | 4:34 | 4:17 | 98.0 km / h | Pendolino |
| Jyväskylä (342 km) | 3:00 | 3:26 | 2:51 | 114.0 km / h | Pendolino |
| Kajaani (767 km) | 7:02 | 5:33 | 109.1 km / h | Pendolino and express train | |
| Kotka (243 km) | 2:45 | 2:24 | 2:18 | 88.4 km / h | InterCity and regional train |
| Kouvola (192 km) | 1:56 | - | 1:23 | 99.3 km / h | InterCity |
| Kuopio (511 km) | 4:45 | 4:08 | 3:52 | 107.6 km / h | Pendolino |
| Lahti (130 km) | 1:21 | 1:14 | 0:48 | 96.3 km / h | InterCity |
| Lappeenranta (278 km) | 2:42 | 2:30 | 2:09 | 103.0 km / h | InterCity |
| Mikkeli (305 km) | 3:13 | 2:45 | 2:23 | 94.8 km / h | InterCity |
| Moscow ( Leningradski ) (1117 km) | 13:28 | - | 13:08 | 82.9 km / h | Express train |
| Oulu (680 km) | 5:44 | 6:00 | 5:43 | 118.6 km / h | Pendolino |
| Saint Petersburg ( Ladožski ) (456 km) | 5:41 | - | 5:21 | 80.2 km / h | Express train |
| Pori (322 km) | 3:00 | 3:16 | 3:02 | 107.3 km / h | Pendolino and regional train |
| Rovaniemi (900 km) | 9:51 | - | 9:22 | 91.4 km / h | InterCity |
| Seinäjoki (346 km) | 2:42 | - | 2:39 | 128.1 km / h | Pendolino |
| Tampere (187 km) | 1:27 | 1:40 | 1:23 | 129.0 km / h | Pendolino |
| Turku (194 km) | 1:44 | 1:59 | 1:44 | 111.9 km / h | Pendolino |
| Vaasa (420 km) | 3:42 | 4:15 | 3:44 | 113.5 km / h | Pendolino and regional train |
The Pendolino is manufactured by Alstom . The Finnish company Transtech supplies double-decker passenger cars for intercity traffic, double-decker sleeping cars and double-decker car transporters.
New developments
The new Kerava – Lahti line, which opened in September 2006, is now also used for high-speed traffic between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. This traffic is handled by the Finnish and Russian state railways jointly under the brand name Allegro using a new generation of Pendolino locomotives . The design of the Pendolino trains used in cross-border traffic is said to be somewhat different from the Pendolino locomotives that have been used on Finnish main traffic axes since the 1990s.
In 2012 the Finnish Railways celebrated its 150th anniversary.
Traction vehicles
Steam locomotives
The VR used the following types of steam locomotives, among others:
- A1 - machines procured for the first VR series
- A4 - Locomotives of the early days with the 2'B wheel arrangement, taken over with the Hangon rautatie .
- H1 / H2 (later summarized as Hk1 )
- H8 - multi-purpose locomotive with a 2'C wheel arrangement.
- K5 / Tk3 - Light multi-purpose locomotive with a 1'D wheel arrangement in service from 1927 to 1975.
- Hr1 - Type 2'C1'h2 express train locomotives, in regular use from 1937 to 1971.
- Hv - These birch wood-fired steam locomotives were mainly built by Lokomo in the 1920s and 1930s. The first 15 machines, however, were delivered by Schwartzkopff in 1919 .
- L1 - Type C tank locomotives for shunting operations, in service until 1970.
- Pr2 - type 2'C2'h2t tank locomotives with oil firing, originally built for the Estonian state railway Eesti Vabariigi Raudtee .
Diesel locomotives
- Dr12
- Dr13
- Dr14 - Diesel locomotives of the Dr14 series are very often used in the largest ports and freight yards in Finland.
- Dr16 - One of the newer diesel locomotives in Finland is the Dr16. The first machine was built in 1985 at Valmet (now Transtech ). Despite, or perhaps because of, the latest technology, there were initially some problems with this series, not only because of the low output. The Dr16 is the first locomotive with three-phase traction motors. 21 locomotives are equipped with SEMT-Pielstick 12PA4V200 VG diesel engines, two prototypes with Wärtsilä engines .
- Dv12 - The 192 Dv12 class locomotives were built between 1964 and 1984 at Valmet (even numbers) and Lokomo (odd numbers). They reach 85 km / h in G gear in freight traffic or 125 km / h in M gear in passenger train traffic and form the backbone of diesel traction.
Railcar
- Sm1 - In the early years after the first electrification, the Sm1 series railcars carried out electric passenger traffic on their own. They are still doing their job at VR today and have now been modernized.
- Sm2 - The successor series of the Sm1 differs in a light metal case, air suspension of the bogies and in the electrical equipment. The multiple unit consists of a motor car Sm2 and a control car of the type Eioc. It achieves an acceleration of 0.84 m / s 2 (fully occupied) and 1.13 m / s 2 (empty) in the range from 0 to 30 km / h . A maximum of six Sm2 and Sm1 units can be coupled to form a train with twelve cars. Normally, however, the lengths of the platforms only allow five units of ten cars.
- Sm3 - the tilting technology train has been tested since 1995. The Sm3 / S220 series comes from Fiat , in collaboration with Rautaruukki-Transtech , a Finnish wagon company. The model is the Italian ETR 460 from FS. The 220 km / h trains were adapted to the specific requirements of the VR and the different climatic conditions. In 1997, VR ordered the first eight series multiple units.
- Sm4 - modern railcars for local rail transport in the Helsinki region
- Sm5 - modern railcars for local rail transport in the Helsinki region (operated only by VR, owned by Pääkaupunkiseudun Junakalusto ).
- Sm6 - The VR series Sm6 is a two-system variant of the Sm3 for traffic with Russia.
- Dm7 - rail buses used in local transport from 1955 to 1988 .
- Dm12 - modern diesel multiple units for branch lines with little traffic.
Electric locomotives
- Sr1 - The Sr1 were the first electric locomotives in Finland. For diplomatic reasons they were ordered from the USSR , but many electrical parts were made in Finland by Oy Strömberg Ab (now ABB Finland) . Despite their Finnish nick name Siperian susi (Siberian wolf) , they have been quite reliable. The first locomotives were delivered in 1973. The vehicles have a thyristor power equalizer and DC traction motors .
- Sr2 - The Sr2 is the second series of electrically powered locomotives in Finland. They can reach 230 km / h, pull InterCity trains at up to 160 km / h and can also pull heavy freight trains. Over 50% of the machine was built in Finland. The first 20 copies ordered were delivered in 1996. On January 12, 1999 the VR ordered 20 more locomotives and on December 29, 2000 another six, so that since the delivery of the last locomotive (2003) the total number is 46. The Sr2 belongs to the ' Lok 2000 ' family.
- Sr3 - VR has ordered 80 Siemens Vectron electric locomotives, with the option of a further 97 electric locomotives of the same type. The locomotives will be delivered between 2016 and 2026. It was used in freight and passenger transport in 2017. The locomotives are built in the Siemens plant in Munich, the running gear in the Siemens plant in Graz. The Vectron ordered by VR are equipped with two additional diesel engines. With this shunting module (last mile) the operator can drive on short, non-electrified sections (e.g. in freight stations or sidings).
Web links
- VR Group (English)
- VR Rail Passenger Transport (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Key figures 2015. Accessed on July 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Annual report 2015. Responsibility. vrgroupraportti.fi, accessed July 4, 2018 (Finnish).
- ↑ Market monitoring. Trafi, accessed on May 22, 2015 .
- ^ Three New Locomotives for Fennia Rail. Fennia Rail Oy, November 25, 2014, accessed May 22, 2015 .
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^ The statement on page 18 of the German-language edition by Mikko Alameri: Railways in Finland. (Vienna, 1979 ) that Finland had committed itself to a new nominal gauge of 1,520 millimeters in 1959 was never implemented. The track width in Finland is still 1524 millimeters. (According to Rataverkon kuvaus , Finnish: Description of the rail infrastructure , page 69 (PDF page 71))
See also: Data sheets for the multiple units delivered by Stadler Rail to Finland ( JKOY series Sm5 : data sheet ) and Russia ( KISS Eurasia : data sheet ) - ↑ Finnish Railway Statistics 2012. (PDF) liikennevirasto.fi, accessed on January 1, 2017 (English).
- ↑ Page on the 150th anniversary of the VR. Archived from the original on January 3, 2012 ; accessed on January 1, 2017 (Finnish, attention, long loading time!).
- ↑ Eisenbahn magazin, February 2014, p. 23.
- ^ Eisenbahn magazin, April 2014, p. 20.