About 1.4 million journeys were made in VR's long-distance traffic in July—the popularity of night trains has increased
8. August 2023 Press releases
In July, the number of long-distance journeys was approximately 2% lower than in July 2022, when the number of long-distance journeys was at a record high.
"Longer train journeys are made in the summer, for example, to Oulu, Joensuu, Vaasa and Kuopio. The Hillosensalmi stop at Repovesi National Park, opened for the summer season, has attracted more passengers in June–July than last year. Compared to last year, the popularity of night trains increased by about 6%. This summer, we offered hundreds of thousands of long-distance tickets for less than 10 euros, from which our customers provided a lot of good feedback,” says Piia Tyynilä, VR's Senior Vice President, Long-distance Traffic.
The transport volumes of VR Transpoint’s railway transport in July were 1.7 million tonnes. The volumes decreased by 30% year-on-year due to the termination of Eastern traffic and the declined demand of the forest industry.
Domestic transport volumes decreased by 15% in July, mainly due to weakened demand and production restrictions in the forest industry. In January–July this year, 13,6 (17,4) million tonnes of goods were transported by rail, which is about 22% less than in the previous year.
Punctuality in July at a good level
The punctuality of long-distance traffic was 91.3% in July. Primary delay entries were divided between track-related causes (53%), other causes (26%) and VR-related causes (22%). The punctuality of long-distance traffic was weakened by speed limits and malfunctions in the rail infrastructure caused by weather phenomena.
The punctuality of VR's commuter traffic was 98% in July. The causes of delays were divided among track-related causes (60%), other causes (31%) and VR-related causes (9%).
