VR-Group Plc, commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With 7,500 employees and net sales of €1,251 million in 2017, VR is one of the most significant operators in the Finnish public transport market area.
The Finnish railway network consists of a total track length of 9,216 km (5,727 mi). The railways are built with a broad 1,524 mm track gauge, of which 3,249 km (2,019 mi) is electrified. Passenger trains are operated by the state-owned enterprise VR that runs services on 7,225 km (4,489 mi) of track. These services cover all major cities and many rural areas, though the coverage is less than the coverage provided by the bus services. Most passenger train services originate or terminate at Helsinki Central railway station, and a large proportion of the passenger rail network radiates out of Helsinki. VR also operates freight services. Maintenance and construction of the railway network itself is the responsibility of the Finnish Rail Administration, which is a part of the Finnish Transport Agency. The network consists of six areal centres, that manage the use and maintenance of the routes in co-operation. Cargo yards and large stations may have their own signalling systems.
The Sr1 is a class of electric locomotives built for VR of Finland. These 25 kV locomotives were built in the Soviet Union at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Factory between 1973 and 1985. Two additional locomotives of this class were built at the VR Hyvinkää Machine Workshop in 1993 and 1995, number 3111 from spare parts and number 3112 from the original prototype locomotive that was never used by the VR. The official classification given by the manufacturer is VL70 or ES40.
The FS E.444 is a class of Italian railways electric locomotives. They were introduced in the course of the 1960s until 1975. Starting from 1989, all E.444s were upgraded as E.444R.
The Sm3 Pendolino is a class of high-speed body-tilting trains operated by VR Group. It is a member of the Pendolino train family; its design is based on the ETR 460. The first two trainsets were assembled in Finland by Rautaruukki-Transtech in the mid-1990s. The rest of the series of eighteen EMUs were built by Fiat Ferroviaria between 2000 and 2006. The trains serve most of Finland's major cities such as Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Joensuu with a maximum speed of 220 km/h (140 mph), although this speed is only attained between Kerava and Lahti. The train has a power output of 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) and weighs 328 tonnes.
The Dr16 is a class of diesel-electric locomotives used by VR. The 23 locomotives have a single, off-centre cab and are currently VR's most powerful diesel locomotives. Their nickname is "Iso Vaalee". They are presently mainly used on heavy freight services in northern Finland; their main passenger duty is the haulage of trains on the non-electrified line between Kemi and Kolari in Lapland. Dr16 locomotives were also used extensively on the line between Oulu and Rovaniemi, prior to the completion of the electrification of the line in 2004.
The Dv12 is the standard Finnish medium-weight diesel-hydraulic road switcher operated by VR. As all the main lines of Finnish railway network have been electrificied, the locomotive is designated mostly to unelectrified, less frequently used side lines. Occasionally it may still pull cargo trains on main lines. It has also been put in service as a shunter, replacing older classes Dv15 and Dv16 as they were retired. A total of 192 locomotives were built by Lokomo and Valmet between the years 1963 and 1984. As of 2022, the oldest Dv12 units still in use are 59 years old.
The electric multiple unit Sm1 is a class of commuter train equipment that was in active use by VR from 1969–2016. Fifty Sm1 units were built between 1968 and 1973 at Valmet airplane factory in Tampere. They were put into use on the first electrified Finnish railway line between Helsinki and Kirkkonummi on January 26, 1969 with five units in operation. All Sm1s were thoroughly renovated between 1994 and 2000. Commercial service ended in April 2016.
The Sm2 is a class of electric multiple units in use by VR in its commuter rail traffic in southern Finland. Fifty Sm2 units were built between 1975 and 1981 by Valmet in Tampere. Since the withdrawal of the older Sm1 units, the Sm2 units are the oldest multiple units in use in Finland.
The VR Class Hr11 was the first class of line-haul diesel locomotives used by Valtionrautatiet. Only five units were built, all delivered by Valmet in 1955. The Maybach diesel engines used in the locomotives proved highly unreliable, resulting in a complete overhaul of the engine-transmission system in 1956–58, but this did not solve all of the reliability problems. The Hr11 series was withdrawn from service in 1972.
The Sibelius was a train run daily by VR between Helsinki, Finland, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The service began on 31 May 1992 in order to ease congestion on the night service train Repin and due to the fall of the Soviet Union, where traffic was increased on the border.
The Dm12 is a diesel railcar operated by VR Group.
The Dm6 and Dm7 were diesel multiple units built by Valmet in the 1950s and 1960s for Valtionrautatiet. They are known by their nickname lättähattu.
The Dr14 is a heavy shunting locomotive used by VR Group. Some of the locomotives can be radio controlled.
The Dm10 was an experimental diesel multiple unit built by VR Group's Pieksämäki workshop in 1994. It was based on a blue passenger carriage, Eit 23018, which was fitted with two diesel engines taken from HKL buses 601 and 608. The train had 80 no-smoking seats and had the driver selling tickets, which was unusual for Finnish conditions. During testing, it was run under the nomenclature KOEMV 9991, transporting Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari in Savonia in May 1994.
The Dm11 was a diesel multiple unit built by GEC-Alsthom in Spain for VR Group. A total of 16 units were ordered in 1995, with an option of 16 more, at a price of 80 million Finnish marks. The first units arrived in Finland in February 1997 and testing started in Central Finland a month later. However, VR cancelled the deal at the end of the same year. By that time, six units had been delivered. The trains left Finland in 1999. One of the units was later seen in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2000 before they were sold to Cuba. The train was unofficially called the Mandolino, which rhymed with the then-new Pendolino.
The VR Class Vr3 was a class of steam locomotive built in Finland. Before 1942, the class was known as O1. They were nicknamed Kukko and they have the same frames and boiler as the Vr Class Pr1 (Paikku) locomotive. The first locomotive was ordered in 1924 from Hanomag of Germany, number 10 351 and it was numbered 752. The remaining 4 were produced by Tampella Oy in Tampere. They were numbered 752 to 756.
VR Class Tve2 was a VR Group diesel shunting locomotive. They were ordered from the Saalasti Oy engineering company and built between 1962 and 1964. Locomotives was sent to the Turenki sugar factory. A total of 8 units. The manufacturer's designation for the model was OTSO2 and OTSO2/VR.
VR Class Sr3 is the newest electric locomotive series used by VR Group. It is based on the Vectron model, manufactured by Siemens Mobility. Sr3s are used with both passenger and freight trains and they will replace the old Sr1 electric locomotives.
