Rail services have stable market share

Rail services account for 5% of all journeys made in Finland, compared to the EU average of 6%. Private cars have the biggest share of the travel market, some 85%. Rail transport’s share of all public transport is 37%.

Railways have had a consistent 25% share of freight carryings in Finland for many years, compared to an average of about 13% in EU countries. Road transport accounts for 68% of freight carryings in Finland.

Productivity on the railways has increased considerably during the past ten years.

The operating environment for railway services in Finland differs from that in many other European countries. Finland has much primary heavy industry, which favours rail transport. Conversely, the country has a small population that is mostly concentrated in southern areas. Maritime services and special rolling stock are usually needed for transport to other countries in Europe. Set against that, rail connections with Russia are excellent partly because the countries have the same rail gauge.

Several players in railway sector

VR-Group Ltd is a limited liability company owned entirely by the Finnish state. The company was incorporated on 1 July 1995 to continue the operations of Finnish State Railways (VR). With the incorporation of VR-Group Ltd, the division of work on the railways was re-organized to correspond to other modes of transport. Management of the rail network was transferred to a civil service department and a separate company provided rail services on the state-owned track network.

In Finland the Finnish Rail Administration, an administrative sector of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, is responsible for management of the rail network and for the maintenance and development of railway lines. Similar changes have been made in other EU Member States.

Safety and administration tasks for the railways have been transferred to a new regulatory body, Finnish Rail Agency, in autumn 2006. At present the main task of Finnish Rail Administration is to manage the state rail network. This re-division of duties derives from EU legislation.