About 1.3 million journeys were made in VR's long-distance traffic in August – the popularity of weekday journeys increased in August
8. September 2023 Press releases
In August, the number of long-distance journeys was approximately 4% more than in August 2022.
“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,” says VR’s CEO Elisa Markula.
In August, we introduced the possibility for our customers to activate their tickets themselves in the VR Matkalla app. Ticket activation is currently possible with Ekstra Class seats and in day train cabins for adult’s and children's tickets. The feature will also be available in night trains in the future.
The transport volumes of VR Transpoint’s railway transport in August were 2.0 million tonnes. The volumes decreased by 25% year-on-year due to the termination of Eastern traffic and the poor economic situation in industry. Domestic transport volumes decreased by 11% in August.
In January–August this year, 15.5 (19.9) million tonnes of goods were transported by rail, which is about 22% less than in the previous year.
Punctuality remained at a good level despite disruptions in rail infrastructure at the end of the month
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%).
