VR sees more long-distance passengers in Aug

About 1.3 million long-distance journeys were made by rail in Finland in August and the number is about 4% higher than the stipulated month in 2022, said national railway operator VR in a press release on Driday.

“Weekday journeys were very popular in August, but there was also a lot of travelling at weekends. The positive trend in our customer experience was overshadowed by the punctuality challenges in the second half of the month due to the poor condition of the rail infrastructure, especially on the Coastal Railway between Helsinki and Turku. The poor economic situation in Finnish heavy industry has reduced transport volumes since the second quarter of the year,” said VR’s Chief Executive Officer Elisa Markula.

The punctuality of long-distance traffic was 90.4% in August. Primary delay entries were divided between track-related causes (55%), other causes (23%) and VR-related causes (22%).

The punctuality of long-distance traffic was weakened by disruptions in rail infrastructure, especially on the Coastal Railway at the end of the month and the speed limits related to track work on the main line.

The punctuality of VR commuter trains in August was 97.8%. The causes of delays were divided among track-related causes (54%), other causes (36%) and VR-related causes (10%).