Net sales of the national railway operator VR Group posted a 5.8 per cent rise to EUR 923.5 million in January to September, said a VR press release on Monday.

The group’s operating profit for the period was EUR 82.5 million or 8.9 per cent of the net sales.

The number of journeys in passenger traffic in the period increased by 11.3 per cent to 93.4 million from that in the corresponding period of 2016.

The group’s transport volume in the period marked a 5.6 per cent increase to 32.1 million tonnes.

At VR Track the railway project related to the transport connections of the Äänekoski bio-product mill was completed on schedule, and VR Track won the contract for the track maintenance area 4.

“The strong net sales and result development continued in all business operations throughout the third quarter of 2017. Development measures have been effective and operational KPIs have also developed well. We will invest in the development of customer orientation, growth and the improvement of operational efficiency in the future, too,” said VR Group President and CEO Rolf Jansson.

Net sales for passenger services increased in January-September by 10.2 per cent to EUR 410.4 million. The number of journeys in passenger traffic increased by 11.3 per cent, with a total of 93.4 million journeys made. Of these, 63.0 million were train journeys, up by 5.3 per cent, while road transport accounted for 30.4 million journeys, up by 26.4 per cent.

The number of long-distance traffic journeys was boosted by the improved availability of Saver tickets for the summer and the successful multi-ticket campaign in August-September.

During the campaign, the multi-ticket sales increased by an impressive 81 per cent compared to last year. The increased demand was also supported actively.

The number of journeys has continued to grow for a long time and has led to the decision to invest in new rolling stock for passenger traffic.