As agreed

Finland’s rolling stock maintenance firm VR FleetCare, Russian Railways (RZD), and Karelian Trains have struck an agreement on the upkeep and lifecycle services for Allegro trains running between Helsinki and St Petersburg.

The agreement will continue for two decades and will be divided into two periods of 11 and nine years.

These new high-speed trains will commence operations from 2022.

The rolling stock will include four electric trains with seven wagons built by Alstom.

As agreed, the upkeep of the Allegro trains will continue to take place at Finland’s Helsinki depot.

These trains have been sustained in partnership between Helsinki and St Petersburg yards for over a decade.

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VR FleetCare will offer maintenance and lifecycle management services until the end of the service life of the trains.

The firm will provide material management and carry out regular maintenance and repairs as per the maintenance programme.

Besides, customer reporting will be presented to fulfil the requirements of the clients.

VR FleetCare will also develop a customer portal in future, enabling them to monitor the condition and maintenance of the trains in real time.

Karelian Trains managing director Viktoria Hurri said: “We are absolutely satisfied with the new maintenance agreement concerning the Allegro trains. Our cooperation with the maintainers has been ongoing for more than ten years and has proven to be reliable, of high quality and worthy of the long-term commitment.

“We are convinced that the multi-year partnership does not only enable professional maintenance but also makes the trains technically more advanced and more customer-friendly through new alterations. RZD representatives are also pleased with the long-term agreement with a reliable partner.”

With a rail journey of three-and-a-half hours, there are four daily services operating between Helsinki and St Petersburg.

Earlier this month, VR FleetCare signed a ten-year agreement with VR Group for the maintenance of the new Stadler diesel locomotive’s stock.

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