Freight train leaves Finland for Japan after 30 years

Finnish logistics company Nurminen on Thursday launched a new freight train service from Helsinki to Yokohama, Japan after 30 years of the last train plying between the countries, said the company in a press release.

Earlier, on 12 April, the company announced the opening of the Japan route at the international exhibition TransRussia in Moscow. The train to Yokohama departed Helsinki on Thursday.

The journey of more than 10,000 kilometres starts by train from Helsinki to Vostochny Port in Nakhodka and from there by sea to Yokohama.

After China, Japan is Finland’s most important trading partner in Asia. Timber, paper, machinery, and equipment are exported to Japan.

Nurminen’s train service, which started in 2018, has transported cargo from Helsinki and Narvik in Norway to various destinations in China and back.

“This is a block train for one customer, but due to the high demand for exports and imports to Japan, we believe that more trains will start opetating between Finland and Japan. The train transports products of a large Swedish company,” said Nurminen Logistics Sales Director Marjut Linnajärvi.

Nurminen Logistics also opened two new destinations in China.

The second route that runs from Helsinki via Jinan to Tianjin, China started at the end of March and this full train service is part of Nurminen’s existing customer supply chain. Tianjin is a metropolis in northern China and one of China’s largest cities.

The third new route opened by Nurminen Logistics runs to Jiazhou, China, with departures from Helsinki every other week. The first export train to Jiazhou has already reached its destination on 6 April 6 successfully. Jiazhou is located in the Qingdao area, where there is a lot of industrial business.

“The demand and load of export trains are high, and we are very pleased that the Finnish export industry has included trains in its transport and supply chain solutions. Train transport is very suitable for products where the delivery time and reliability are important factors, for a lot of capital is tied to the products. Thanks to the direct route, regular departures, and fast transport time, our customers significantly improve their own market position in China. Increasingly, low CO₂ is also a significant selection criterion for many customers,” added Linnajärvi.