Finland orders double-deck carriages worth over €50 million

The VR Group (Finland’s state-owned travel service) has granted an option for 20 double-deck passenger cars based on a contract from 2015, which is worth over €50 million.

The passenger cars are pressure-tight and have good thermal insulation that is suitable for use in demanding Nordic conditions with temperatures dropping to -35 degrees Celsius. The aisles are also pressure-tight, making movement between wagons comfortable and safe.

The cars comply with TSI, their maximum speed is 200km/hr and they all have a strong aluminium structure that is designed according to valid safety standards so the deformation zones absorb the consequences of a collision in the event of an accident and the passenger compartment remains protected.

“We are very pleased that the option has been used, and 20 state-of-the-art double-coaches are going to be soon in use for the passengers in Finland,” said Zdeněk Majer, Vice President of Škoda Transportation and Chairman of Transtech. “The first passenger car was deployed on the Finnish railways in June 1998, and today more than 270 of these vehicles are carrying passengers on all the main lines.

“Škoda Transportation Group has an increasingly strong voice in the demanding Scandinavian market. We are focusing on close cooperation with our customers in order to implement in our trains the demands and experience from operation. This recently concluded contract and orders, for low-floor trams for the operator HKL of Helsinki worth more than €150 million, are confirming this as a valid strategy.”

The new carriages will be equipped with 113 passenger seats on both floors and in the end section and is designed specifically for families and passengers with reduced mobility.

“Strong growth continues in domestic rail travel in Finland,” added Maisa Romanainen, Senior Vice President of Passenger Services at VR Group. “This year, the number of journeys has already increased by almost 10% and more than 20% on many of the main routes. We [will] make growth in rail traffic possible in the future by investing significantly in additional capacity.

“The current rail infrastructure does not make it possible to increase the number of services during peak hours, but we can still increase the capacity of the existing trains.”