Fewer passengers travel by train in July

About 1.3 million train journeys were made in July 2024, which is about 4% less compared to the stipulated period in the last year, said country´s railway operator VR in a press release on Thursday.

The decrease in the number of journeys is due to track work carried out by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency on the coastal railway, which caused a break of over five weeks in rail traffic in the direction of Turku.

On all other routes, the number of trips increased slightly.

Meanwhile, about 8.8 million train journeys were made in January–July 2024, which is 2 per cent more than in the comparison period of last year.

The passenger load factor of long-distance trains was 47% - there is plenty of space on the trains, especially during off-peak periods and public holidays.

"The passenger load factor of long-distance trains in January-July was 47%, which means that there is plenty of space on the trains outside rush hours and public holidays. There is still room for night trains in the autumn, and during the autumn holidays," said Elisa Markula, Chief Executive Officer of VR.

In July, the punctuality of long-distance trains was 85%, when punctuality is measured with an accuracy of five minutes.

Half of the delays (50%) were due to track-related reasons, such as speed limits or gear and electrical faults.

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency is responsible for the condition and maintenance of the track.

Around one-fifth (22%) of the delays were caused by VR and the rest (28%) by other reasons, such as vandalism.

In VR's commuter services, punctuality in July was 97%. Of the delays, 39% were due to reasons related to the track, 47% to other reasons and 14% to VR.