All Finland articles – Page 5
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NewsRevised cost estimate for Helsinki – Espoo light rail line
FINLAND: A revised cost estimate for the planned Raide-Jokeri orbital light rail line that would link Helsinki with Espoo has been announced. If this is approved by the two city governments, construction can begin in June. The 25 km route is now expected to cost €566m, including €110m for ...
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NewsVR Group restructures maintenance business
FINLAND: National railway VR Group transferred its rolling stock maintenance activities to a new VR Kunnossapito subsidiary with effect from January 1. The wholly-owned subsidiary has 990 staff headed by Kimmo Soini. VR Group CEO Rolf Jansson said the aim was to grow the maintenance subsidiary’s customer base ...
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NewsNurminen Logistics sells Russian wagon fleet
RUSSIA: Finnish freight company Nurminen Logistics plc announced on October 30 that it had sold its Russian wagon fleet of around 350 vehicles to TransLes. Part of the Rustranscom Group of freight companies, TransLes is one of the largest wagon operators in Russian forestry sector with a fleet of ...
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NewsTranstech renamed Škoda Transtech
FINLAND: Škoda Transportation Group's Finnish rolling stock manufacturing business Transtech has been renamed Škoda Transtech. Established in 1985 as a subsidiary of the Rautaruukki steel group and latesr acquiring the Valmet plant in Tampere, Transtech was owned by Patentes Talgo from June 1999 until March 2007 when it was sold ...
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News‘Unpretentious, authentic and pragmatic’ Tampere tram styling revealed
FINLAND: The appearance of the trams which Škoda Transportation is to supply for the future Tampere tramway has been finalised. In 2017 the city council announced a €104m firm order for Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech to supply 19 ForCity Smart Artic trams, with options for up to 46 more. The ...
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NewsNRC Group to buy VR Track
EUROPE: Finnish state-owned rail operator VR Group has agreed to sell its infrastructure maintenance subsidiary VR Track to the Norwegian NRC Group. The deal is expected to be finalised by January 2019, but is subject to approval by authorities in Finland and Sweden, where VR Track has a subsidiary, ...
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NewsOpen access operator's competition complaint upheld
FINLAND: Transport regulator Trafi has instructued state operator VR to make its charges for handling cross-border freight more transparent, following a complaint from the country’s only private operator. Fenniarail has been hauling trains between the Russia-Finland border and UPM’s paper mills since January. Its complaint related to VR’s pricing of ...
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NewsNurminen Logistics plans to sell wagon fleet
RUSSIA: Nurminen Logistics announced on October 2 that it was considering selling the wagons owned by its Russian subsidiary OOO Nurminen Logistics, saying this would free up capital to support a strategy of focusing on its rail operations and freight forwarding activities in the Russian rail market. The Russian wagon ...
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NewsSeven approved to bid for Helsinki commuter operating contract
FINLAND: Greater Helsinki area regional transport authority HSL has prequalified all seven companies which expressed interest in a contract to operate commuter train services around the capital for 10 years from June 2021. The contract would cover commuter services on the Ring Line serving the airport, on the main line ...
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NewsHelsinki orders more Transtech trams
FINLAND: Helsinki transport operator HKL has ordered a further 10 ForCity Smart Artic trams from Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech. The contract announced on June 14 is worth €30m. HKL ordered 40 trams from Transtech under a framework contract in 2010 that includes options for 90 more. In December 2016 ...
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NewsŠkoda becomes sole owner of Transtech
FINLAND: Škoda Transportation Group signed an agreement to purchase the remaining shares in Transtech on May 21. With the purchase of the 25% stake from Sinituote Oy, Škoda becomes the 100% owner of the Finnish rolling stock manufacturer. In 2015 Škoda Transportation Group acquired 75% of Transtech from investment ...
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NewsFinland – Estonia Tunnel strategy to be published next month
EUROPE: The Finnish and Estonian joint working group, which is developing proposals for the 92 km FinEst undersea railway tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn, is due to publish its recommendations on how to proceed on May 7. This will set out a vision for what should happen next, how ...
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NewsFinland – Arctic Ocean rail route proposed
EUROPE: A report into options for a rail link from Finnish Lapland to the Arctic Ocean has been published by Finland’s Ministry of Transport & Communications. This concludes that a 465 km route from Rovaniemi via Sodankylä to Kirkenes in Norway would be the best option. The cost is estimated ...
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NewsHelsinki and Bombardier agree Variotram settlement
FINLAND: Helsinki transport authority HKL and Bombardier Transportation have reached an agreement which will see the 40 Variotrams withdrawn from service in the Finnish capital by the end of 2018. The Variotrams were delivered by Adtranz (later Bombardier Transportation) in 1998-2003, but the track profiles and operating conditions on Helsinki’s ...
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NewsLänsimetro extension opens in Helsinki
FINLAND: The first phase of the Länsimetro extension of the Helsinki metro into Espoo opened to passengers on November 18. The 13·5 km western extension from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä in Espoo has eight underground stations. It was built by Länsimetro Oy and has a forecast ridership of 100 000 passengers ...
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NewsFinland to China freight service launched
INTERNATIONAL: A freight train left Kouvola between Helsinki and the Russian border on November 10 carrying 41 containers for Xi’an in China. The containers were filled with Finnish products including timber, machinery, work clothing and ship components. The 9 110 km journey via Russia and Kazakhstan is expected to take ...
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NewsTampere tram order finalised
FINLAND: Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech announced details of its tram order for Tampere on October 16. The firm order for 19 ForCity Smart Artic trams is worth €104m, and the framework contract includes options for up to 46 more vehicles, which would be delivered in three tranches. Tampere city ...
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NewsVR orders double-deck coaches
FINLAND: National operator VR has awarded Škoda Transportation subsidiary Transtech Oy a €50m order to supply a further 20 Type Ed double-deck coaches as an option on a contract signed in 2015. Production is scheduled to begin next year, for delivery in 2019. Maisa Romanainen, Senior Vice-President of Passenger Services ...
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NewsFinland sets out plans for passenger rail tendering
FINLAND: The government’s plans to open the domestic passenger market to competition and bring the country into line with the EU’s Fourth Railway Package were set out by Transport & Communications Minister Anne Berner on August 9. The model which has been chosen is similar to that adopted by Norway, ...
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NewsHelsinki Artic XL tram design unveiled
FINLAND: Helsinki transport operator HKL has unveiled the design of the Artic XL trams that would run on the future Raide-Jokeri orbital route between Helsinki and Espoo. Styling has been provided by Idis Design. The trams will have a blue and green livery to distinguish them from the green ...